X-Com: Mass Effect
by dragonsong2795
Summary: During the Invasion of Earth a soldier makes themselves well known to the world, that soldier. Shepard eventually volunteers for an important mission and saves the world, but cursed with the final revenge of a cruel and ruthless species, can Shepard lead humanity during its greatest trial, the threat of the Reapers
1. Prologue

**A/N: So any of my regular readers are going to be like 'dragonsong2795' what are you doing, you haven't finished 'X' story and you're publishing another! Well I just have to say, I'm sorry but this is how I work, I can only work on a single story for so long before my mind (and muse) goes 'Nope, I'm not going to work on this anymore' and I might be reading another fanfiction, watching a movie, playing a game or something along those lines and I'll be like, 'Hey, what if…' and a story is born, for those interested and following my other stories, don't worry. I will endeavor to finish all of my stories, but there may be a significant wait for me to actually get interested in writing a certain story, or even a certain type of fanfiction again. At the end of this short, very short chapter there'll be a poll that'll have a 'Massive' effect on the story. It'll be one of two polls I'll be running, the second will be a review based poll that will end in chapter three (four if you go by the fanfiction chapter guide).**

* * *

**Prologue**

**Fall from Grace**

* * *

'_Those who play with the Devil's Toys, will be brought by degrees to wield his sword'_

_Buckminster Fuller_

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_Temple Ship Bridge, 21__st__ December 2015 'Operation AVENGER'_

BANG

A solitary gunshot rings out, the Uber Ethereal falls back with a bullet hole right in the centre of its chest. The shooter a woman with long red hair and green eyes dressed in Psi armor turns to her companion while the rest of the assault squad sigh in relief. "You see 'Apollo' I told you that having my old MX-12 would come in handy"

Her companion, the man nicknamed 'Apollo' raises one his right eyebrow in amusement, he is around six foot with white hair (Even though he's only 25) and blue eyes. "I never doubted you for a second 'Artemis' but what I believe I said was that it would be ineffective against most of the higher tier X-Coms due to their armor"

'Artemis' shakes her head in disbelief "You always have an answer to everything I say don't you?"

'Apollo' chuckles "Occasionally, sometimes I don't bother to _rise_ to the occasion" 'Artemis' frowns at the light jab to a night a few months ago when she'd gotten more than a little tipsy.

A member of the assault squad (and 'Artemis ' and 'Apollo's personal squad), a woman with shoulder length black hair and brown eyes, pipes up "Hey Commander, XO. Stop messing around, let's get out of here, this place gives me the creeps"

A dark chuckle interrupts the commander's response. The entire assault squad turns and looks in horror at the Uber Ethereal which is once again floating in the air "Do you think 'New One' that this is the end, my race may die here, but we will not leave _yours_ unscathed" A massive pulse of Psionic energy blasts from the Uber Ethereal, behind him numerous holographic screens appear as the sound of something charging up resonates through the Temple Ship. "Your race is powerful, let us see if it can survive this change!" A massive energy pulse explodes from the ship, flooding the assault squad with foreign energy knocking them all out except for 'Artemis' and 'Apollo'

"What have you done?" 'Artemis' screams at the Uber Ethereal.

The Uber Ethereal laughs with dark intent "I have set the way for the dawn of a new race, and you! You the 'New One' will be the Queen, your Gift will and is resonating through your new people, hail the new queen. As I once slew the rulers that changed my people against their will, so have you slain me. Enjoy your hollow victory" The Uber Ethereal then shudders before disintegrating in a vibrant display of Psionic energy, that strikes 'Artemis' and 'Apollo'

From the bottom of the Temple Ship a vast beam of Psionic energy blasts out and strikes the Earth, in that moment everything changed.

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"_Two possibilities exist:_

_Either we are alone in the Universe_

_or we are not._

_Both are equally terrifying."_

_Arthur C. Clarke_

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**A/N Okay, the short prologue is over and I probably have more than a few people upset that it is that short, don't worry the next chapter is highly in-depth and will probably be around the ten thousand word mark.**

**But first the polls.**

**The first poll I'll be running will be up on my profile, I repeat it will be up on my profile, any reviews or PMs with votes will be ignored. This poll is due to the fact that I'm not very good at creating starships, so I'll be borrowing from one of two other canons as the Mass Effect Alliance starships won't work for this story. The options are:**

**Option one: Sins of a Solar Empire, mixed Ascent and TEC (if you don't know what those are go Google it and you'll see the ships I'm talking about, I'm looking mostly at the Capital Ships for those who know the game)**

**Option two: Halo UNSC ships.**

**Option three: Halo Covenant ships.**

**Option four: create my own.**

**Now the second poll I'll be running is based around the events of First contact, which will be at the same timeframe as the Mass Effect games. The poll, and this is a review poll is should I:**

**A. Keep with canon but change it to reflect Humanities new technology**

**OR**

**B. Go with a slightly different version that doesn't result in a war with the Turians.**

**I'm going to be working real hard to get the first REAL Chapter of this story out as fast as I can.**

**Now a little challenge, for the right to name one of Humanities Dreadnoughts. Guess the character that interrupts 'Apollo' and 'Artemis' (Bonus points to however figures out the identity of said characters as well)**

**dragonsong2795**

**PS. Fun fact when I abbreviated this story for saving purposes its initials spelt XCME (like ACME but with more successful technology, also a cyber cookie to those who get the ACME reference, to those of you who don't… shame on you)**


	2. Rising From the Ashes

_Here it is, the second chapter of X-Com: Mass Effect, I would like to both thank and give credit to Palladius as it was his story '_Enemy Returned'_ that gave me the idea for this story, it also provided some ideas and concepts that are in the story. A full list of credits will be at the bottom, to prevent spoilers for contents._

_However the following __**Warning**__ must be given there are mentions of Mass Death, Off-screen sex and birth. If any of the previous are something you can't stand, please stop reading._

_If you however do not mind, by all means keep reading. The winner of the Starship poll will be announced at the end of this chapter._

_Also the next chapter is likely to be a timeline from __**2057 **__to __**2157**__ showing Humanity's growth leading up to First Contact._

**Chapter 1**

**Rising from the Ashes**

"_My first thoughts were: Dear Lord"_

_Steven Hackett on the 'Day of Death'_

_Temple Ship Bridge, 22__nd__ December 2015, Operation AVENGER Aftermath_

Colonel Suzanne 'Susan' Shepard, more commonly known as 'Artemis' slowly wakes from the dark sleep she had been forced into after the Uber Ethereal unleashed his/its final surprise. She turns to look at her XO and gasps in surprise (and arousal to her confusion) at the thin scales now extending from the end of his eyebrows, curling around his eyes and ending at his tear ducts. His barely visible neck has what looks like silvery chitin plating similar to what the Chryssalid had covering their bodies. She shakes her head at the slight murmuring that she can hear in the background

Before she can do anything her radio bursts into life "Commander Shepard, this is HQ do you read me?" the voice of the X-Com commander Steven Hackett bursts into her earpiece.

Shepard lifts a hand to her earpiece and responds "This is Shepard, I read you HQ" Shepard's eyes burst open as a terrifying thought occurs to her "HQ, what happened with-"

A sigh burst over the comms before she can finish "It's bad Shepard, really bad. According to our best intelligence, only three percent of Humanity is still alive. To add on to that, the Uber Ethereal did something to us. Humanity has changed, and we aren't sure if it is good or not. Get your squad back here ASAP, 'Joker' has been waiting for confirmation of your survival for nearly six hours"

"Roger that, Shepard out" Shepard then slowly gets to her feet, then her head snaps to the side as she hears a groan.

Mikhail 'Apollo' Volkov slowly gets to his feet, as Shepard's XO he is the second 'most tough ass bastard in the squad' (His own words, but they're often repeated by everyone familiar with Alpha Squad) he shakes his head to get rid of the lingering vestiges of unconsciousness, he can hear a slight murmuring and can hear/feel/see? Relief… and arousal? Before Mikhail can do more than straighten up and smile at Shepard, he is assaulted, by Shepard. She wraps her arms around him and then as if possessed kisses him full on the lips. With the way things are going Mikhail wouldn't b surprised if she wasn't about to become more… intimate right then and there. But before such a thing can happen a loud "COMMANDER" rings out from Ashley 'Hera' Williams.

Snapped out of her sudden aroused state Shepard's eyes widen as she realizes what happened and then she blushes and stutters out "S-s-sorry, M-m-Mikhail. I-I don't k-know what c-came over m-me"

Mikhail is rendered speechless however another member of the squad Kaiden 'Hermes' Alenko isn't and he speaks up "I don't know commander, it looked pretty obvious what you were trying to do" Kaiden then chuckles "I was enjoying the show until 'Hera' decided to break it up"

Mikhail shakes out of his daze while Shepard blushes even deeper "Alenko, you're a bloody pervert"

Alenko shakes his head rapidly "No I'm not, I've just got a healthy appreciation for intimacy"

As one Mikhail, Shepard and Ashley deadpan with "That's a Pervert"

Alenko sighs "Nobody will take my side"

A slightly French accented voice speaks up with "Because we all know your side is the wrong side _Branleur_" Annette 'Athena' Durand shakes her head while groaning "Damn, I've got the mother of all headaches"

Alenko shakes his head in confusion "What does… whatever you called me even mean?"

Mikhail snorts in amusement "She called you a wanker pretty much"

Alenko looks confused "A what?"

Mikhail shakes his head in exasperation "I forgot you're a Yank, she said you have a healthy relationship with your right hand… probably because no real woman can stand that dark tortured Emo style you favor"

Before Alenko can respond the last member of Alpha squad speaks up "While this is interesting and all, maybe we should be heading back to base?"

Shepard nods "You're right, just let me do something"

Durand snorts in amusement "No you cannot rape your XO"

Mikhail pales somewhat when Shepard replies with "I wasn't planning to… right now anyway" Shepard then blushes again and shakes her head violently as if trying to clear her thoughts by force. Shepard then takes a deep breath and recomposes herself.

Shepard walks over to the command console of the Temple Ship and seems to almost link with it. The squad feels the ship start to move slightly "There, within the next six hours this ship will park itself in geosynchronous orbit over HQ. Now let's get going"

Alpha Squad quickly makes its way to the hanger bay where the Skyranger is waiting. As they approach the pilot activates the Coms "About time you guys got here"

Mikhail laughs "What are you complaining about Joker, you get paid extra every moment you're outside the Hive"

Joker laughs as well "You're right 'Apollo' I forgot about that, at least I now have something to look forwards to. By the way the Commander's been on the horn wondering why the Temple Ship is on its way to the Hive, I was kind enough not to relay these messages to you guys. Anyways let's get going, and do any of you know why we now have scales and this hard stuff?" Mikhail shakes his head at the sound of joker knocking on the chitin that now covers his neck.

The Squad hops in the Skyranger and Joker takes off heading back across the void between Earth and the Temple Ship towards the Hive.

They slow down on final approach to the Hive, Mikhail turns to Shepard and says "Do you know anything about what that Uber Ethereal was ranting about?"

The rest of the squad quickly go silent as they hear Mikhail's question, Shepard shakes her head "I've got no idea, but it almost sounds like the Ethereal's people were invaded just like we were. Did they also rise up and fight like we did? Are we just repeating history?"

Mikhail shakes his head "No we aren't, because we won't do what the Ethereal's did, we won't become the monster we fought. They once said '_Those who gaze into the Abyss should beware, for as they look into the Abyss, so does the Abyss look into them_' We gazed into the Abyss, we stole its power and its technology. But, but we never forgot who and more importantly _What_ we are. We are Human, we are separate yet similar, we are one species with many races. We are shattered, yet cohesive. Violent, yet peaceful. Arrogant, but humble. Warriors and scholars. The Ethereal's saw the Universe in black and white, they saw each being as good at one thing and one thing only, and that lead to their defeat. They couldn't imagine us being warriors capable of fighting them, yet at the same scholars wise enough to not only crack the secrets of their technology but also improve it with our own twists. So don't worry Shepard, you won't go down the path that those Ethereal's did, at the very least I and this whole squad will be there to knock sense back into you" Mikhail turns to face Shepard with belief in what he is saying evident in his entire being.

Shepard smiles at Mikhail and opens her mouth to say something only to be interrupted by the Commander Hackett "That's a very wise speech you made Colonel. I hope that in the coming days we can remember it"

Mikhail jerks in surprise "Commander you were listening to my speech?"

A laugh comes over the Comms "Joker heard you starting up and opened up the Comms to HQ, everyone here heard it. I think I speak for all of us when I say, thank you. I think a lot of the people here needed to hear what you said. Now more than ever with what has happened to Humanity. We haven't been able to study it too much but according to doctor Vahlen, we aren't _Homo Sapiens, Sapiens _anymore, but something new, something different"

Commander Hackett's voice cuts out and the voice of the Research department's head Doctor Laura Vahlen comes over the Comms "Alpha Squad, we appear to be a new species altogether, however around ninety percent of our DNA still corresponds to what could be considered the average 'Human' that is as the Commander said '_Homo Sapiens – Sapiens_' but due to whatever the 'Uber Ethereal' did, we now have Reptilian and Insectoid traits. Mainly the scales on our faces , hands and feet and the chitinous armor on our torsos, upper arms, upper legs and around our neck. More alarming is the fact that according to the DNA scans I've ran on the surviving staff, none of us are fertile anymore"

Shepard immediately picks that one up "Could the Ethereal's have sterilized Humanity?"

Vahlen pauses for a moment, Mikhail wonders if she is shaking or nodding her head, before answering "No Commander Shepard, from what I've read of the DNA profiles, what I have been able to gather in such a short time anyways, Humanity is now has castes similar to a hive insect, for example bees or ants. It is simply that there are no 'Queens' on the X-Com staff present in the HQ"

Shepard stiffens up "Queens? That's what the Uber Ethereal called me, he said '_You the "New One" will be the Queen_' c-could that be what he meant?"

Vahlen pauses once more and a low murmuring is heard "It is possible, according to our tests none of the non-reproductive castes can feel aroused or attracted to others. Have you had any of these feelings?"

Blushing furiously Shepard looks unable to answer so Mikhail does "I would say yes, Shepard seemed to be over amorous towards me after I awoke and alerted her to my presence, she seemed uncaring over anything regarding modesty until Colonel Williams distracted her long enough for her to realize what was happening. Then she reverted to a normal societal response to such a situation" Shepard glares at him while blushing.

Vahlen pauses once more and then almost seems giddy "Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately there is only one way to test whether or not this is an isolated incident"

Mikhail sighs before answering "Although I am reluctant to answer the obvious reply to that, I would imagine that letting copulation happen would be the only sure-fire way to test any theories on the subject" Shepard almost goes nuclear with the blush on her face. But she doesn't appear all too unhappy with what the two are implying.

Vahlen sighs and then her voice is heard with a great weariness to it "Unfortunately you are right XO Volkov, ultimately however the test is up to Commander Shepard, we cannot force her to do anything that she doesn't want to. However Commander I urge you to try, despite whatever personal feelings you may have, and I couldn't imagine you don't have any on this subject, we need to know whether or not you can procreate, because if you can't and no-one else can it will be the extinction of Humanity"

Shepard sighs "I… understand" she turns to Mikhail and opens her mouth to say something but he preempts her

"I will help, you won't be the only one to shoulder this burden Susan. It wouldn't be far on you for that to happen. I just wish we could have had dinner first though" Mikhail grins rakishly with the last sentence and Alpha squad starts to laugh, he can also hear Joker cracking up in the cockpit and Vahlen laughing over the Comms.

Shepard just smiles and nods "Thanks"

Vahlen then adds her two cents "Yes thank you XO Volkov, I am afraid we needed that laughter more then we will admit"

The Skyranger arrives over the X-Com HQ and then slowly descends into the X-Com HQ Hanger.

**X-C:ME**

_X-Com Research Report 17__th__ June 2016_

_Head Researcher: Dr. Laura Vahlen_

_Team Leader/s: Dr. Ryan Haywood, Dr. Jack Pattillo._

_TOP SECRET: ANY NON-AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL READING BEYOND THIS POINT WILL BE SUBJECT TO IMMEDIATE PUNITIVE ACTION._

_THIS DOCUMENT IS RF TAGGED ALL MOVEMENTS ARE BEING TRACKED._

_Human Species-wide Genetic Alteration Research. _

_Project Codename: Fallen Angel_

_On December 21__st__ at 12:47 Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), the leader of the Extraterrestrial invasion the Ethereal codenamed as the 'Uber Ethereal' launched a incredibly powerful Psionic waveform that blanketed the entire planet. Over ninety percent of Humanity died as a result of this action, the remaining survivors appear to have been genetically altered to such a degree that they can no longer be called __**Homo Sapiens – Sapiens**__, while the extent of the change hasn't been fully recorded yet, we have decided to call the new species __**Homo Sapiens – Novus**__, while Novus has many meanings I believe that one of them 'Unprecedented' is a good description of what has happened to Humanity._

_Upon deeper DNA testing and internal scans we have been able to ascertain the following, first. Humanity is no longer solely Mammalian, we now also have Reptilian and Insectoid traits coming to the forefront. Primarily a exoskeleton that now covers our torso, upper legs and arms and goes around our neck, but still has an endoskeleton inside helping support the body far more than either could alone. Where the exoskeleton does not cover with the exception of the pelvic region are scales like one would see on a snake, however these scales appear to have a high iron content to them, hence their slightly reflective qualities, it also accounts for the increase in desire for red meat. The pelvic region and genitalia along with parts of the face only have epidermis (skin), however testing shows that the epidermis is much more resilient than the average Homo Sapiens. Addendum, Homo Novus appears to have a more carnivorous take on our dietary requirements with each meal needing to be at least thirty percent meat in order to support our new bodies. However upon consuming a meal, it was observed that a Homo Novus only needs to eat once every ninety-six hours or once every four days, consequently the average food requirements for a Homo Novus is a twelfth that of Homo Sapiens, if our population were to ever grow to the same levels are previously recorded it is feasible that the Earth can support far more Homo Novus then it ever could Homo Sapiens. A subsequent check shows that in extreme conditions, a Homo Novus can go up to three months without food if required, however for optimal growth a Homo Novus that is exercising in a attempt to grow muscles or is recovering from a severe injury or illness should eat at least one kilogram of red meat every forty-eight hours or two hundred and fifty grams every twelve hours. A growing Homo Novus however needs to eat quite regularly, as often as twice every twenty-four hours, they also need more calcium in their diets to develop their chitinous armor. A pregnant Homo Novus Queen or High Queen (Explained below) requires nearly twice their weight in food every twelve hours if they are breeding 'drones' or their own weight in food once every twenty-four hours for 'sentients', 'sub-royalty' and (assumedly) 'royalty'_

_However one of the most important changes and the one most likely to affect our society is the addition of Insectoid castes, that is to say Humanity now appears to have castes similar to certain types of insect. For those unaware I will now give a simple rundown of castes. A caste is almost a sub-species within a species that is more focused towards a certain task or type of task. For example ants have three main castes, workers, soldiers and 'royalty' the workers perform tasks like scouting, construction, tending the young, food gathering and feeding the Queen. The soldiers defend the colony and its gatherers, and the royalty reproduce for lack of a better term. Humanity now appears to have this system, at the current moment four castes are known or speculated._

_Royalty. Like Ants Humanity now has a 'High Queen' that will produce some of the children, upon an experiment that will be detailed in the following report. We discovered that the High Queen can either lay up to two hundred eggs that produce 'drone' type castes with a gestation period of a week or they can have a six month gestation period of a single 'sentient' type caste. It is speculated that the extra gestation time is required for the more complex neurological structures in the brain that allow higher functions like thought and self-awareness need extra time to form thus the extra gestation period compared to the eggs, it must be mentioned that the gestation period is still three months shorter than the average Homo Sapiens – Sapiens, it must also be mentioned that we have no idea of the length of the gestation period for a 'sub-royalty' or 'royalty' caste member. Until coupled with a partner of the opposite gender Royalty can be consider 'deactivated' and will seek out partners who have proven themselves as stronger and/or smarter than the rest, the partner for the High Queen has been named the 'Lord Consort'. The gestation period for a 'royalty' caste member is unknown, but judging by previous estimations for the 'sub-royalty' caste ten months is the estimated time._

_The second caste is the Sub-Royalty, while the Sub-Royalty are almost identical in nature to the Royalty, these 'Queens' can only birth 'sentient' or 'drone' castes and without Psionic stimulation from the 'High Queen' are unable to birth other Sub-Royalty or Royalty. Current estimation shows around ten Queens are scattered over the world, three Europeans, three Asian, two South American, one Australian and one African. There are no North American Sub-Royalty but the 'High Queen' is North American. The partners of the Queens have been named 'Consorts' and appear to be subservient to the 'Lord Consort' however that may also be due to the fact that the 'Lord Consort' is military trained where as the consorts are all civilians. The gestation period for a 'sub-royalty' caste member is estimated to be around eight months, but like Homo Sapiens gestation there could be variations of plus or minus two weeks._

_The third caste is the 'sentient' caste, this caste is further divided into sub-castes. Currently all adult humans are of this or the Royalty and Sub-Royalty castes. The 'sentients' are divided into what appears to be: intellectual, cultural, civic and militaristic. That is to say there are 'sentients' that are dedicated to intellectual pursuits such as myself it appears, they could be called the 'Scientists' of Homo Novus (Writing the full form of Homo Sapiens Novus is a bit tiring so I have shortened it) The next are the cultural 'sentients' who appear to focus on music, art and literature, basically they are the musicians, artist and writers of Humanity, interestingly there are no actors among their number that we have reported so far. The civic 'sentients' appear to be primarily farmers, miners and other base industry workers or engineers and architects, there doesn't appear to be any builders, but that might be due to the fact that would technically come under the aegis of a 'drone' caste. Finally the militaristic 'sentients' appear to be high level military officers or intelligence agents, from what I have observed numbers wise they make up over thirty percent of the current population. The militaristic 'sentients' would assumedly be the commanders of a military 'drone' caste. The gestation period for a 'sentient' caste member is around six months with a variance of plus or minus two weeks, however a militaristic sub-caste member takes around seven months, presumably due to the denser bone and muscle tissue of the sub-caste member._

_The population breakdown of adult humans (which have been tallied following the event at three hundred million) following the Event is thirty percent militaristic 'sentients', forty percent civic 'sentients', twenty percent intellectual 'sentients', nine point ninety nine percent cultural 'sentients' and point zero one percent Royalty or Sub-Royalty. Now however there are also between 20,000 to 22,000 'drones'_

_The final caste is the 'drone' caste. The following facts are known about the 'drone' caste. First, the 'drone' class isn't sentient and wouldn't be able to survive without a 'sentient' caste member to issue orders. Second, the 'drone' caste is broken up into civic and military lines, or workers and soldiers. With the workers following the commands of the civic 'sentients' and the soldiers following the commands of the militaristic 'sentients' however this is all speculation. There are also nursemaid and handmaiden sub-castes that serve the Royalty and Sub-Royalty castes. The last fact is that like insects the 'drones' are infertile females, 'sentient' caste members appear to be either male or female at random like a Homo Sapiens conception. The gestation period for a 'drone' caste member is around a week, but they are born in vast clutches of 'eggs' the average amount is one hundred and fifty eggs for a 'sub-royalty' caste member and two hundred for a 'royalty' caste member._

_Lastly we come to the final point of interest, with the successful awakening of the 'High Queen' (See following file) a Psionic network of sorts similar to the Ethereal's Hyperwave Network has connected all Humanity together in a 'Hive mind' with the 'High Queen' active it appears almost impossible for a Homo Novus to ignore her commands, however this appears to be dependent on the reason for the command, if the command is life or death of either the individual being commanded or the species as a whole the command cannot be ignored even by a 'sentient' caste member, however is the command is frivolous like asking someone to get them a drink a 'sentient' caste member can ignore the command, however it is possible a 'drone' caste member cannot. But that is only speculation._

_End of Report_

**X-C:ME**

Hackett sighs after reading the report, he then rubs his head to dispel some of the headache reading so many words is starting to give him, he liked the details Dr. Vahlen gave him don't get him wrong, but sometimes there is just so much to take in. Hackett then turns to the supplementary report, vividly remembering the comments and complaints from Shepard during that period.

**X-C:ME**

_X-Com Research Report 17__th__ June 2016_

_Head Researcher: Dr. Laura Vahlen_

_Team Leader/s: None_

_TOP SECRET: ANY NON-AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL READING BEYOND THIS POINT WILL BE SUBJECT TO IMMEDIATE PUNITIVE ACTION._

_THIS DOCUMENT IS RF TAGGED ALL MOVEMENTS ARE BEING TRACKED._

_Homo Novus Royalty Caste Reproduction Research. _

_Project Codename: Genesis_

_At the request of the scientific staff, the suspected 'Queen' (Now known to be the 'High Queen') Suzanne Shepard initiated coitus with her chosen partner, her XO Mikhail Volkov. Upon completion of coitus, the act itself started a neurological chain reaction that awoke a portion of Commander Shepard's brain, this act caused a Psionic release that blanketed the planet and awoke the 'Hive Mind'_

_Afterwards internal scans showed Shepard to have conceived, however the growth pattern was far too quick for an average Homo Sapiens. Within a week of conception, Shepard began to lay 'eggs' to a number of 211 eggs. Each egg is about the size of a finger tip and has a glossy red exterior, within hours of being laid the eggs swelled to the size of an average Homo Sapiens six year old child. The shells then hardened before cracking and disgorged a 'drone' caste member what appeared to be a psychological age of six years old, unlike 'sentient' caste members the 'drone' caste members have an exoskeleton covering over ninety percent of their body with only their head uncovered. Within weeks the 'drone' caste members grew to an adult. _

_In the following days, Shepard conceived again however instead of being a 'drone' caste member it was an 'sentient' caste member. It took six months for the 'sentient' to gestate before being born, during which time Shepard displayed all the normal emotional responses for a pregnant Homo Sapiens, albeit slightly accelerated due to the shorter gestation period. _

_Personal note from Dr. Laura Vahlen: Commander, while as interesting as this research is. Perhaps the next series of experiments in this area should involve a less… aggressive subject then Alpha Squad Commander Shepard._

_End of Report_

**X-C:ME**

Hackett smiles briefly at the mention of Shepard's nature when pregnant, the only one who could get near her without being snapped at was Mikhail, even then he looked fairly haggard. Hackett then frowns in thought '_If the entire human race is connected in a Hive mind, why do we still put top secret and do not read at the front of all X-Com reports? Probably just habit, or maybe preparation in case we ever encounter another sentient extraterrestrial race'_

Hackett leans back and thinks over the past six months, after Shepard initiated the Hive mind as they have come to call it, it became much easier to get a grasp of exactly how much devastation there was. Of a planet of around eight billion human beings, there were now three hundred million, six hundred and twenty two thousand, one hundred and three sentient human beings. Of course there was now between 20,000 to 22,000 drones thanks to the three European and Asian 'Queens' producing just 'drones' Shepard, had in the nature of equality commanded that each continent except North America have an equal number of 'Queens' so three of the other four 'Queens' were pregnant with 'Queens' and the last one was pregnant with a 'Consort'.

Hackett and Shepard had both worried over whether or not the fact that there was only eleven beings capable of reproducing on the planet would lead to genetic problems down the track, but according to Dr. Vahlen, the only thing the children inherited from their parents were looks and pheromone types, so inbreeding would cause absolutely no genetic degradation as it would have just six and a half months ago. Hackett still wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not, but at least their race wasn't headed towards extinction through regression or inbreeding.

However on the upside they had begun to make significant strides in developing new technologies from the data aboard the Temple Ship. Most interesting however was the nature of the Extraterrestrials left alive onboard, when the Uber Ethereal self destructed all Chryssalids and 'Thin Men' died from the Psionic backlash, however the rest of the Extraterrestrials were left alive, upon discovery of them the explorers of the Temple Ship were amazed to discover that the remaining ETs were actually friendly to them. A quick check by Dr. Vahlen told them that the Sectoids, Mutons and the rest of the ETs were now linked to Humanity Psionically and therefore saw humans as their leaders and rulers, however she wasn't entirely sure and wanted to do a more in-depth study on this situation before committing herself to a answer. Despite Dr. Vahlen's inability to commit herself to an answer the current situation was extremely helpful as when some of the explorers got lost on the Temple Ship they were guided back to the rest by some Sectoids. Now all they had to do was ask a Sectoid Psionically or audibly to guide them to the places they wanted to see, it made exploring the vast ship much more expedient.

The Temple Ship has many miraculous devices, but the most interesting of these devices was the 'Nanoforge'. A five kilometer long, two kilometers wide and one and a half kilometers deep half-cylindrical depression filled with Nanobots, this machine was able to create several dozen Firestorms within seconds given the proper resources. Following on from that in the most interesting devices category would have to be the Meld manufactory and Alloy recombination centre, the Meld factory created massive amounts of Meld. Hackett briefly pauses to wonder over the implications of that and then shrugs, it wasn't something he would need to think about, even though he was currently the leader of humanity. Mainly because Shepard didn't want to handle the job, though she was still thought of by the entire human race now as the leader they all looked to, Hackett shudders '_Shepard in command of the entire human race, it might be better that she isn't interested in ruling'_. Hackett sighs as he shakes his head clear of all the distracting thoughts and goes over the data in his terminal once more. He immediately notices a new research proposal from Dr. Vahlen.

**X-C:ME**

_Research Proposal – Societal Reactions to a Massive Upheaval._

_During the last six months a curious social phenomenon has been occurring, Humanity has started to group itself into clans, specifically clans based around each Queen, and the High Queen. I would like to do a more in-depth examination of this phenomenon to see if there will be any dangerous side effects to the stability of the proto-government that has formed in the wake of the 'Day of Death' as it is now being referred to._

_This study shouldn't take more than a month, and it will provide invaluable information for the formation of a new permanent government._

_Dr. Laura Vahlen._

**X-C:ME**

Hackett signs his approval immediately to the proposal, he had seen before how allowing potentially dangerous trends like this to fester has affected humanity. He then sighs as a message comes over the PA.

'_Commander, a situation has developed, please report to the situation room'_

**X-C:ME**

_X-Com Situation Room, three minutes later._

"What is the problem?" Hackett asks as he strides in.

Bradford looks almost… _constipated_ "Well sir, I can't believe this but… the proto-government has broken down, peacefully but they're requesting-"

Hackett frowns as Bradford stops "Yes, what are they requesting?"

Shepard, having been standing in the background, walks forwards and says "The people are requesting that _I_ take over government and the job of leading Humanity"

Hackett despite the seriousness of the situation grins and says "Well then, hail the new queen?"

Shepard merely glares at him and stalks off, with Mikhail desperately holding in laugher and the rest of the room laughing loudly at Shepard's reaction. She may have been their High Queen and therefore bound to follow her till the end, but it didn't mean they couldn't make jokes at Shepard's expense.

**X-C:ME**

_**Council Codex Entry**_

_**Human Politics (Classified – Council or Government officials only)**_

_**Data Collected in 2167.**_

_At the turn of the millennium for Humanity, in the Human year 2016, six months after a disastrous series of event completely changed humanity as they knew it. The Human government was replaced, by a council that answers to a mysterious 'High Queen', the name, nature or even basic appearance of this 'High Queen' has never been learned by any non-human. Despite the best attempts of the Salarian STG to observe said 'High Queen'._

_Each council member is the best at whatever aspect of Humanity they represent, the places on the council are as follows:_

_High Queen (Chairwoman?)_

_Treasurer (also Councilor of Economics)_

_Military Leader (Vice-Chairman?)_

_Councilor of Agriculture_

_Councilor of Industry_

_Councilor of Growth_

_Councilor of Science_

_Councilor of Engineering_

_Councilor of Recreation_

_Councilor of Colonization_

_Councilor of Education_

_Councilor of Infrastructure_

_Councilor of Resources_

_Councilor of Space Exploration_

_Councilor of Civil Services_

_The council has been named by several humans as the Novellus Council, the meaning of this name is unknown._

_It should be noted that the Human Government doesn't have a police force like other governments, when questioned about this anomaly the answer has always been 'Why would we need one?' this has often sparked debates over whether humanity either A. Does not have crime, or B. Does not have laws. Humanities Government has never provided an answer to this questions, but several humans have been seen refusing to do certain jobs as 'they are against our laws' indicates that A. is more likely._

_Interestingly enough ancient records of Humanity not only has indications of peacekeeping forces and criminals, but also indications of a fractured society without central government as late as six months before the founding of the current government of Humanity. What event could possibly have caused such a radical change in Humanities society? Is it related to the constantly mentioned but never explained 'Day of Death'? For every question about Humanity that is answered, dozens, even hundreds of questions seem to appear, will the Council Races ever manage to answer these questions? Or perhaps the better question should be, are we ready to deal with the consequences of finding those answers?_

_Council Codex Entry End_

**X-C:ME**

_Shepard's private quarters, X-Com HQ._

'_Do you all agree with my outline for the new government?'_ Shepard Psionically casts to all of Humanity.

'_We do'_ came the unanimous vote of every sentient living human being older than twenty years of age.

Shepard nods to herself, although Mikhail sitting opposite her at her small table does. '_Then onto my next proposal, during the Invasion. Many lives were lost due to people not being able to fight against the invaders effectively. I would like to propose that from the age of twenty every human being must complete a year of military training and then nine years of military service, then those who are not of the military caste can continue into their chosen vocation or education, with the condition that they remain ready and able to fight at all times. Does anybody have any questions or objections?'_ Shepard sits almost rigidly hoping that they accept her proposal.

'_Is humanity going to be more militaristic now?'_ comes a question from a Intellectual caste member. With Cultural caste members mentally echoing the question.

Shepard shakes her head '_No, but we will make sure that we are able to fight for peace should we have to. Also this way every person will know how to handle a gun and there should be less gun related accidents'_

A moment of intense murmuring follows and then '_We agree with your proposal, Milady'_ Hackett's 'voice' comes to the fore '_Should I start setting up a staggered roster so that we don't have vital services cut off?'_

Shepard nod her head in answer '_Please do, I would also like a form of FTL and starship to be worked on ASAP, we need to be able to scout out the surrounding interstellar space in case there is more surprises from the Ethereals to deal with'_

Vahlen chimes in '_I'll get right on it commander'_

Shepard opens her eyes which she had kept closed throughout the mental conversations and looks at Mikhail "Do you think I'm moving too fast?"

Mikhail shakes his head to indicate he doesn't "We were taken by surprise when the invasion started, even with X-Com existing already. We can't afford to let our guards down. However the pace of advancement now lies with your choices Susan. You will set the pace for humanity, and humanity will follow their 'High Queen' wherever you lead"

Shepard looks off towards a wall mounted screen showing images of the state of all major cities following the 'Day of Death' "I can only hope that my lead isn't into damnation"

Mikhail stands up and walks around the table, he then engulfs Shepard in a hug "No matter what, mankind will follow you. So don't panic and worry, you have advisors to warn you of potential mistakes and me to keep you grounded, as I said before, I won't let you become a monster like those Ethereals. '_Vigilo_ _Confido'_ vigilance and trust, trust my vigilance to keep you human"

Shepard snorts with amusement "We definitely succeeded in following 'Mutare ad Custodiam' then didn't we"

Mikhail laughs "I guess in a way we did, but don't tell Dr. Vahlen that" Shepard snorts trying to hold in somewhat hysterical laughter, her tiredness making the joke seem funnier than it actually is. Mikhail grins but then shakes his head "Come on, you'll feel better after a good night's sleep"

Shepard nods in agreement "Yeah, you're right" Just before she falls asleep Shepard has a thought and voices it "Did you know about those clans people are talking about?"

Mikhail just shrugs, he hadn't noticed the chatter all that much.

**X-C:ME**

_**Human Codex Entry, **_

_**Clans of Humanity, **_

_**Data Collected in 2016**_

_Written by Dr. Laura Vahlen with the assistance of Doctors Gavin Free and Michael Jones._

_Following the massive upheaval created by the events of the 'Day of Death' humanity began to fracture into 'clans' based around each Queen. The clans are varied in nature and inevitably they fall into one of six archetypes, these are:_

_The Militaristic Clan which almost entirely consists of Militaristic and Solider sub-castes._

_The Scientific Clan which consists mostly of Intellectual sub-caste members with some Militaristic and Civic caste members scattered around._

_The Cultural Clan which consists mostly Cultural sub-caste members with some Civic caste members._

_The Diplomatic Clan almost consists entirely of Cultural sub-caste members with some Militaristic and Civic sub-caste members present._

_The Worker Clan which consists mostly of Civic sentient sub-castes._

_The Spacer Clan which are clans have expressed an interest in living in space rather than on a planet._

_Of course there are clans that are a mixture of several or even all of these traits. The most well known clan is the Shepard Clan, which is the largest clan and is the personal clan of the High Queen herself. Members of this clan tend to be more than others, they strive to prove they are the best of the best and have never failed in this regard. To put it in more simple terms they are the Special Forces, Einsteins and Michelangelos of modern times._

_The official Clan roster is kept in the most secure archives often with dozens of defenses both physical and cyber to protect the data within._

_The following are the original founding clans (according to the online and Psionic forums)_

_Shepard Clan_

_Takahashi Clan_

_Bai Clan_

_Megat Clan_

_Beaumont Clan_

_Campana Clan_

_Vasile Clan_

_Afolayan Clan_

_Reynolds Clan_

_López Clan_

_Ramos Clan_

_Named for the Queen or High Queen that rules the clan, each clan looks first to their Queen and then to the High Queen (With the exception of the High Queen's clan) Each clan has a position on the Novellus Council (Taken by the Queen) and may not influence another council member even if they are of the same clan._

_Human Codex Entry End_

**X-C:ME**

**Project: Iron Maiden**

_X-Com Research Report 27__th__ June 2016_

_Head Researcher: Councilor Raymond Shen_

_Team Leader/s: Councilor Laura Vahlen, Dr. Julia Picard, Dr. Gavin Free_

_TOP SECRET: ANY NON-AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL READING BEYOND THIS POINT WILL BE SUBJECT TO IMMEDIATE PUNITIVE ACTION_

_THIS DOCUMENT IS RF TAGGED ALL MOVEMENTS ARE BEING TRACKED_

_Mechanized Exoskeleton Cybersuit Specialized Drone Research. _

_Project Codename: Iron Maiden_

_Following the Event, it was discovered that no MEC Troopers survived the Psionic wave, this strange event was pondered on for a while due to the fact that every other X-Com Personnel survived. Upon deeper scans the reason became apparent, the MEC Trooper's cybernetic implants in the brain caused a short when mixed with the Homo Novus physiology, we have adjusted the technology in order to adapt to this discrepancy. Militaristic 'sentient' caste member David Lenore, agreed to be the trial subject for a new range of MEC Trooper cybernetic enhancements, the test was a resounding success. Now however we have started to look at the long term. The MEC Troopers represent a significant boost to our military strength that we cannot afford to have tempered by a lack of volunteers. Due to this we have decided to see if a 'Queen' can create a specific type of 'drone' with only minimal information._

_The first attempt was by Miko Takahashi, the eldest Asian 'Queen' she created twenty 'drones' that appeared to be for the military sub-type, but upon closer inspection were seen to have been adapted to be more accepting of the MEC Trooper cybernetics. These 'drones' codenamed 'MEC Drones' have quickly adapted to being inside the MECs, they appear to be more comfortable inside the MECs then outside and only leave to eat or relieve themselves, they actually seem to prefer sleeping inside the MECs or other enclosed spaces, this seems to be a inbred agoraphobia (Fear of Open Spaces) that is mitigated when they are inside the MECs. We assume that they will also do well inside the enclosed designs of starships as well, even with windows. We tested this theory using a common sedan car and the Skyranger and they were perfectly fine._

_In order to fit in with the new nature of humanity we have recreated a new series of MECs using the MEC-3 'Paladin' as a base. These are the MEC-4a 'Honor Guard' with extra armor and a more refined look to act as guardians for the 'Queens' usable by either Cybernetically Augmented 'sentients' or MEC Drones, the MEC-4b 'Praetors' for the use of the Cybernetically Augmented 'sentients', it comes with an advanced communications system and heavier armoring then the following MEC. The MEC-4c 'Legionnaire' for the MEC Drones, lighter then the MEC-4b this MEC can be created in large numbers due to its simple design and low resource cost compared to other MECs currently available. And finally the MEC-4d 'Praetorian' which is using some experimental Psionic shielding based off of Mechtoid technology that has been observed by soldiers in the field and found on the Temple Ship. As well as an experimental MEC weapon, a MEC wielded Fusion Lance known as the 'Dragon Fire'_

_Personal note from Dr. Raymond Shen: During this research we have discovered new possibilities for MEC enhancements, we will keep you advised on any future developments Commander._

_End of Report._

_MEC Drones now available for breeding._

_Drone Cybernetic Augments now available in the Cybernetics Lab._

_MEC-4a 'Honor Guard' now available for construction in the Cybernetics Lab_

_MEC-4b 'Praetor' now available for construction in the Cybernetics Lab_

_MEC-4c 'Legionnaire' now available for construction in the Cybernetics Lab_

_MEC-4d 'Praetorian' now available for construction in the Cybernetics Lab_

_MEC Weapon 'Dragon's Fire' Fusion Lance now available in the Foundry_

**X-C:ME**

**Project: Mercury**

_X-Com Research Report 15__th__ November 2016_

_Head Researcher: Councilor Laura Vahlen_

_Team Leader/s: Dr. Jack Pattillo, Dr. Ryan Haywood._

_TOP SECRET: ANY NON-AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL READING BEYOND THIS POINT WILL BE SUBJECT TO IMMEDIATE PUNITIVE ACTION_

_THIS DOCUMENT IS RF TAGGED ALL MOVEMENTS ARE BEING TRACKED_

_Inertial Dampening, Artificial Gravity and Inter-Atmospheric Hovering Research._

_Project Codename: Mercury_

_Hyperwave technology is more versatile than first thought, we can do things with it thought impossible just a year ago, while we haven't yet cracked FTL, we have created a way to dump excess inertia into the so-called 'sub-space' we have discovered that by linking a Hyperwave beacon to the hull we can absorb the inertia of the starship. It must be linked to the navigation and helm to prevent it from absorbing intended actions such as moving the ship, however it is very functional and easy to implement._

_It also has the effect of allowing vessels to 'hover' in atmosphere without problems as the effect of gravity appears to be treated the same as inertia, that is to say absorbed and dumped into 'sub-space' Or it can be channeled into plates at the bottom of the ship to provide artificial gravity (Note, when outside of a planet's gravity well excess inertia or energy from 'sub-space' is used to create the AG effect)_

_End of Report_

**X-C:ME**

**Project: Vesta**

_X-Com Research Report 1__st__ December 2016_

_Head Researcher: Councilor Laura Vahlen_

_Team Leader/s: Dr. Jack Pattillo, Dr. Ryan Haywood, Councilor Raymond Shen._

_TOP SECRET: ANY NON-AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL READING BEYOND THIS POINT WILL BE SUBJECT TO IMMEDIATE PUNITIVE ACTION_

_THIS DOCUMENT IS RF TAGGED ALL MOVEMENTS ARE BEING TRACKED_

_Hyperwave FTL and Scout Starship Research. _

_Project Codename: Vesta_

_We have done it, we have figured out the Ethereal Hyperwave FTL. A FTL Hyperwave drive wraps the vessel in a bubble of Sub-space created by Hyperwave manipulation. This bubble simultaneously launches the ship forwards at FTL speeds and also prevents any relativistic effects from such an action. The bubble also can slow the ship down from superluminal to sub-luminal within 0.01 milliseconds without any inertial stress or damage to the vessel or occupants._

_Humanity now has the power to traverse to the stars._

_To facilitate the High Queen's other request we have designed and created a vessel codenamed Prowler, while the vessel is fairly small (Only a hundred meters in length) it still has empty areas within where we are planning on adding stealth equipment, currently it has a black paint and strategically placed lights to allow it to masquerade as a spot of empty space, thermal energy collection devices in the hull hides the heat created by the Prowlers reactors and life support. The Prowler is equipped with the most advanced sensors we have developed, using Hyperwave pulsations to accurately sense objects up to ten light-years distant._

_We recommend a small crew of three sentients (One captain, one helmsman/navigator and one weapons officer) and ten drones (Five soldiers, five engineers)_

_End of Report_

**X-C:ME**

**Project: Juventas**

_X-Com Research Report 5__th__ September 2026_

_Head Researcher: Councilor Laura Vahlen_

_Team Leader/s: Dr. Jack Pattillo, Dr Geoff Ramsey_

_TOP SECRET: ANY NON-AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL READING BEYOND THIS POINT WILL BE SUBJECT TO IMMEDIATE PUNITIVE ACTION_

_THIS DOCUMENT IS RF TAGGED ALL MOVEMENTS ARE BEING TRACKED_

_Human 'Eternal Youth' Research. _

_Project Codename: Juventas_

_During the last decade following the 'Day of Death' as it is known in current terms, an alarming trend has been seen. No human has exhibited any signs of aging for nearly a decade. With the exception of those still growing to physical maturity. This strange phenomenon has been the source of much discussion on the online forums as to both the cause and the possible ramifications of the so called 'Eternal Youth' after exhaustively searching through every medical scan taken in the last decade we have discovered the answer to not only this but several problems that have confounded us over the last decade._

_The culprit of these mysteries is a series of nodes the run parallel to the spine on either side. These nodes come in sets of four, six, eight and ten, and not only are they responsible for the 'eternal youth' of humanity, but they also answer the biggest question to why there are separate castes and why some castes have higher baseline stats then others. They also answer the question of why even though every human now has the Genetic Modifications (Gene/G-Mods) present in Colonel Suzanne Shepard they have never needed Meld injections._

_These 'nodes' now named 'Vitam Nodes' produce two things in abundance using the nutrients ingested by humans at every meal. Those are Meld Nanobots and Stem Cells, the Meld Nanobots maintain the G-Mods and the organs, while the Stem Cells replace any damaged or dead cells in the human body. This leads to the so called 'Eternal Youth' and the rapid healing noticed by several individuals after they were injured in several ways._

_Theoretically any human being is capable of surviving until the end of the Universe, however a lack of resources near the end would probably cause the extinction of humanity._

_Now to the caste part of the investigation, each caste has at least four nodes, but the 'sentient' caste has six, the 'sub-royal' caste has eight and the 'royal' caste has ten. This is what causes the 'Royal' and 'Sub-Royal' castes to be significantly stronger than other castes, as it seems each 'Vitam Node' pair increases the strength, speed and agility of a Homo Novus by one point five (1.5) times and their mental abilities and willpower double with each node pairing, effectively doubling a castes strength, both physically and Psionically to the one directly below it._

_End of Report_

**X-C:ME**

**Project: Jupiter**

_X-Com Research Report 15__th__ May 2030_

_Head Researcher: Councilor Laura Vahlen_

_Team Leader/s: Dr. Gavin Free, Dr. Michael Jones_

_TOP SECRET: ANY NON-AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL READING BEYOND THIS POINT WILL BE SUBJECT TO IMMEDIATE PUNITIVE ACTION_

_THIS DOCUMENT IS RF TAGGED ALL MOVEMENTS ARE BEING TRACKED_

_Starship-based Plasma Weaponry Research. _

_Project Codename: Jupiter_

_For the past fifteen years we have been studying the Ethereal ship weapons on the Temple Ship and we are proud to say that we have discovered the secret behind ship-based plasma weaponry. A conventional plasma weapon uses a magnetic field to contain the plasma as it is launched, however scaling that up was difficult, until the MAC (Magnetic Accelerator Cannon) was developed. The same principles behind the MAC can be applied to plasma as well, by utilizing this discovery we have developed three types of plasma weapon._

_Type 1: Solid Plasma Field, by stabilizing the plasma in a electro-magnetic field we can contain the incredible heat created by such a weapon into a solid shape, while of little use on ships due to the energy shields being developed by Project: Mars and the expected range of most ship to ship engagements, we have faith that we can miniaturize this technology for the creation of personal plasma blades._

_Type 2: Plasma 'Bolt's: By rapidly forcing high speed plasma through a electro-magnetic 'square' we can 'wrap' the plasma into solid 'bolt's of material that will sear their way through most solid objects, it is one of the few methods we know of that can completely and totally destroy Alien Alloys (Codename: Still Pending) _

_Type 3: Plasma Beams: Similar to the creation of the bolts, however the continual application of plasma from a set of reserves and generators allows for uninterrupted beams of plasma to be launched, this weapon can still be aimed while firing, however such an action will leave a 'stream' of plasma moving in a arc following the movement of the beam, such an arc will terminate within 100,000 kilometers in the sub-zero of space, estimated to be shorter in interstellar or intergalactic space and longer within atmosphere or close to a star._

_We have accelerated work on Project: Mars to compensate for the extra power of our weapons, we hope to see a breakthrough in the next few weeks._

_End of Report_

**X-C:ME**

Over the next few decades Humanity's growth and potential exploded, their technology and abilities grew to levels thought unimaginable before the Ethereal War. Humanity has begun its growth into what will be known as a Galactic Superpower.

**2030**: Mankind recreates it's architectural style, they start to build using geometric shapes, triangles and half triangles are most common, but when seen from orbit the cities of humanity appear as massive circular designs, often hundreds of kilometers wide.

**May 22****nd**** 2035**: Mankind establishes Artemis Colony on the edge of the _Mare Serenitatis_, lead by Queen Cassandra Delacroix (Nee Beaumont)

**July 24****th**** 2040**: Mankind establishes Ares Colony on the slopes of Mount Olympus, Mars, lead by Queen Danielle Taylor (Nee Shepard).

**December 22****nd**** 2057**: During a routine scan of Mars a subterranean structure is discovered in the _Promethei_ _Planum_

**December 23****rd**** 2057**: Mankind discovers the Mass Effect Technological Branch, unimpressed with the slower and less efficient FTL Drives, shielding and weaponry, mankind catalogues and subsequently ignores it.

**December 24****th**** 2057**

Military Leader Steven Hackett looks up at the Councilor of Science Laura Vahlen and says "You have a proposal for me?"

Vahlen nods in response to Hackett's query "I do, after discovering the ruins of these '_Protheans_' we cannot afford to have no military ships"

Shepard walks in having sensed Hackett's confliction, she turns to Vahlen "Show me what you are planning, Councilor Vahlen"

Vahlen nods and walks over to a large holographic screen opposite Hackett's desk, she manipulates some controls to show a picture of what looks like a tear drop with an extra bit on the rounded end of it and an oval at the point. Above it is the title '**CCS-Battlecruiser**' below it is a side on view of the proposed ship.

Shepard looks down at the proposal on Hackett's desk

_Research Proposal_

_Military Starship, Battlecruiser tonnage._

_Codename: 'Argent Dawn'_

_Proposer: Councilor Laura Vahlen_

_Upon researching the more in-depth properties of the Alien Alloy (codenamed: Titan Skin) we have discovered a way to improve its structural strength and blast resistance, by adding a 40:60 mix of cobalt and iron to the alloy, we can reinforce it by a factor of four, however this leaves the metal with a purple coloration, replacing the cobalt with silver changes the coloration to silver but the reinforcement is by only a factor of two._

_By adding this new alloy with a special curved design, we can create a starship up to and over a Kilometer long, unlike the ten kilometer long Temple Ship we do not possess the ability to support a ship of that magnitude, yet. We will also make use of the experimental (Project: Jupiter) plasma weapons and the (Project: Mercury) prototype inertial dampeners with the Ethereal Plasma engines._

_We are tentatively naming this the CCS-Battlecruiser, if it is a success, we also have the CRS-Light Cruiser and SDV-Corvette designs which are based off of the CCS-Battlecruiser. Future technology may also allow the CAS-Assault Carrier and CSO-Supercarrier hulls to be created, however the size of these hulls marks them as a impossible endeavor for the foreseeable future._

_The discovery of the Protheans thanks to the Promethei Outpost has lead to us adding more weapons systems and overlapping fields of CIWS style plasma weapons, due to the possibility of encountering more hostile alien species._

_End of Proposal_

Shepard looks up at Vahlen, and thinks for a second before nodding "Councilor, you have a go"

_And End, so the winner was actually a Tie. Both UNSC and Covenant won, so I'm splitting the difference, UNSC ship types will be used for the civilians ships and Covenant ship types will be used for the Military vessels._

_Also a full list of Credits_

_Research Report headings and the Nanoforge are both ideas from Palladius_

_The Forerunner Architecture, CCS-Battlecruiser and UNSC Prowler belong to Bungie, 343 Industries and anyone else that can claim ownership of the Halo Franchise._

_A majority of the OCs belong to me, however some are Easter eggs hidden in the story. If you spot them, congratulations._

_Now no-one won my little competition to name the first Dreadnought (The answer was Ashley Williams by the way) so it's still up for grabs. So I ask that you, my readers, please send in ideas for the name of the first Dreadnought, the best one or most fitting one will be chosen, runner ups will be utilized. By the way a human Dreadnought will be the CAS-Assault Carrier (The ship Master Chief bombs in Halo 2). The CSO-Supercarrier will be a nice little surprise for the council races once they run into it. Also for any ships names (You can specify if you want it to be some other class then Dreadnought) please try to use UNSC or Covenant naming conventions (Examples being 'Spirit of Fire - UNSC' Halo Wars, 'Long Night of Solace - Covenant' Halo Reach, 'Truth and Reconciliation - UNSC', 'Pillar of Autumn - Covenant' Halo, 'In Amber Clad – UNSC', 'Solemn Penance – Covenant' 'High Charity - Covenant' Halo 2, 'Forward unto Dawn - UNSC' Halo 3 and 'Infinity - UNSC' Halo 4)_

_**Lastly**__: a new __**Poll**__, since I'm bringing in some stuff from the Haloverse, should I bring in more like Elite Plasma Swords (And the Elites themselves) and Halos or just leave it at what I currently have. So basically should I make it a three-way crossover or just a two-way with elements of a third._

_dragonsong2795_


	3. The New Age of Exploration

_Okay here it is the second (third) chapter of X-Com: Mass Effect. Now I would like to give a big thanks to __**ProdigiousThunder **__and __**Leonas**__ as Private Messaging conversation with them helped provide inspiration and ideas that gave this chapter shape._

_**Review replies**_

_**Alucard**__ (Guest): Humanity and the Rachni will have an interesting encounter, I can guarantee that, along with the Thorian._

_**Guest**__ (Guest): First of all, awesome name, ten points, second N7 will exist in this fic, but most of them will be survivors of the Ethereal War, so they're badass and more than a little insane._

_**Palladius**__ (Guest): The names you provided are brilliant, but they don't have the little bit of omph needed for a really big ship, however they are perfect for the CCS-Battlecruisers and I will use them. But I would like you to pick one of the names that you would like to see destroyed in the Battle of the Citadel._

_**dlm4**__: I love the name and it will be the name for the first CSO-Supercarrier (if you don't know what that is, if you've played Halo: Reach it's the massive ship you hit with a Slipspace bomb, if you haven't it's a massive ship between 27 and 29 kilometers long)_

_**thepkrmgc**__: I already answered your review by PM but for everyone else (Who bothered to read the reviews that is) I will again respond with it was supposed to be disturbing as it is needed for the society that will be seen by the Citadel Races._

_**Skelo**__: Plasma Swords yes, Light Sabers… no. They're a little too… anomalous for this story, plus then I'd get dozens of requests for the force or Yoda to appear and I just don't want to open that can of worms sorry._

_**MEleeSmasher**__: Thank you and I hope you continue to enjoy my story._

_**Hevel**__: Here's the continue that you were waiting for._

_Now the majority of this chapter is a 'timeline' style, but there are two miniature shorts about important events._

**X-C:ME**

**Chapter 2**

**New Age of Exploration**

**X-C:ME**

**1****st**** January 2058:** Humanity completes its first military starship, The CCS-Battlecruiser 'Silent Star' is launched from the former ISS, now known as the Arcadia Shipyards. High Queen Shepard captains it for the maiden voyage, before handing control to Queen Alyssa Campana, daughter of Alessandra 'Alessa' Campana. A cultural sentient names this the beginning of the 'New Age of Exploration' the name sticks and humanity begins to name parts of their recent history as Ages. The current three are the 'Age of Warfare' which is from **1914** to **2015**. The 'Age of Rebirth' **2016** to **2057**. Debates are still being held over what to name the earlier ages, although some like the Prehistoric, Stone, Bronze, Classical, Roman, Iron, Medieval and Renaissance are left as is.

**2058**: Over the next twelve months mankind constructs fifteen CCS-Battlecruisers, tasked with patrolling the Sol system for the time being. Prowler class scout ships are sent to every system within the maximum three hour charge of a Hyperwave Drive (25,000 Light-years).

Limits to the Hyperwave Drive are discovered, the Drive has a base charge of three seconds, which grants the ship a 10,000 Light-year range, however there is no discernible increase in range until the three minute mark is hit which increases the range to 17,500 Light-years. Next is three hours and if the pattern holds, three days. However a ship can only charge for a maximum of five hours before the drive violently discharges into the hull, vaporizing the ship.

Plans are made for a 'Hyperwave Gate' which will act in a similar manner to the 'Mass Relays' allowing far greater range and speed without undue damage to the ship, or impossible amounts of capacitor banks. Plans are put on hold due to the lack of technological sophistication required to build one of these gates, the estimated size for one to reach to the other side of the galaxy is a ringworld with a diameter of 10,000 kilometers.

**2059**: The first CRS-Light Cruiser 'Cairo' is launched from the Arcadia Shipyards, each of these vessels is to be named after a city of Earth, Current or former. Over fifty of these magnificent vessels are planned to be built in the next decade.

**2060**: A breakthrough in alloy reinforcement allows for the possibility of the creation of ships between five and ten kilometers long. Plans for the CAS-Assault Carrier are brushed off and reviewed. Newly developed Energy shielding from _Project: Mars_ is added to all starships.

**Project: Mars**

_X-Com Research Report 1__st__ March 2060_

_Head Researcher: Dr. Laura Vahlen_

_Team Leader/s: Dr. Jack Pattillo, Dr. Ryan Haywood, Dr. Geoff Ramsey._

_TOP SECRET: ANY NON-AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL READING BEYOND THIS POINT WILL BE SUBJECT TO IMMEDIATE PUNITIVE ACTION_

_THIS DOCUMENT IS RF TAGGED ALL MOVEMENTS ARE BEING TRACKED_

_Energy Shield Research. _

_Project Codename: Mars_

_One of the most difficult projects we have ever attempted, the creation of an energy shield. But in the end we succeeded, we discovered the key element that would allow us to create a energy shield. Control. We discovered how to create a energy shield years ago, however it stopped everything, hostile and benign including the atmosphere. Drone #1563 died due to this problem._

_The answer to this problem was unexpected yet at the same time completely logical, Psionics. You see every Psionic naturally generates a defensive 'barrier' around themselves, however this barrier is usually only good against Psionic attacks, But when linked with the energy shield prototype not only was it able to stop infantry weapons, it also now allowed in whatever the wielder wished to pass the shield._

_However we wondered how to adapt this to a starship, then we realized that it didn't matter if the starship was blocking everything as we found that the shields couldn't stop each other, we shielded a jeep and then had a drone wearing a shield go to it and turn the shield off. The drone's shield nullified the jeeps shield in a small area allowing the drone to slip through._

_We will however continue to search for a way to control the shield that doesn't require Psionics_

_Energy Shielding (Infantry) now available in the Engineering Division._

_Energy Shielding (Starship) now available in the Engineering Division._

_Planetary Energy Shielding Research now available in the Research Division._

_End of Report_

**X-C:ME**

**Project: Venus**

_X-Com Research Report 16__th__ July 2060_

_Head Researcher: Dr. Laura Vahlen_

_Team Leader/s: Dr. Jack Pattillo, Dr. Ryan Haywood, Dr. Raymond Shen._

_TOP SECRET: ANY NON-AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL READING BEYOND THIS POINT WILL BE SUBJECT TO IMMEDIATE PUNITIVE ACTION_

_THIS DOCUMENT IS RF TAGGED ALL MOVEMENTS ARE BEING TRACKED_

_Cloning Research. _

_Project Codename: Venus_

_In order to solve the problem of slow growth due to limited numbers of Homo Novus capable of reproducing, we attempted to clone humans, however we discovered an important fact. The Queen of the clan we are attempting to clone the new human for must provide a drop of blood to start the growth of the clone. Drones can be cloned in a matter of hours, sentients take weeks and we have never attempted to clone a Sub-Royal or Royal._

_The traditional 'downside' of cloning seen in movies and written about in literature, the short lifespan, is ironically negated by their being human. The 'Vitam Nodes' keep their body at the peak of health and prime of life and appear to fix the mistakes caused by our imperfect understanding of the art of cloning._

_Personal note from Laura Vahlen: I would suggest against the cloning of Sub-Royals and Royals indefinitely as we have no idea what may result from such an action._

_Population Cloning now available in the Population Section_

_End of Report._

**X-C:ME**

**2061**: The first Phoenix-class colony ship takes off from Earth, despite being headed towards the distant Alpha Centauri system, Hyperwave travel means the trip would take only seconds.

**2065**: The Planet Reach in the Epsilon Eridani system is colonized, at 10.5 Light-years from Earth, it is the farthest Human colony from Earth. Plans to take this honor are already in the making.

**2069**: Mankind finishes building the sixty-six planned CRS-Light Cruisers, each system colonized or planned to be colonized by Humanity is assigned at least three CRS-Light Cruisers as a defensive measure. A dozen of them are kept for the defense of Earth.

**2070**: Over the last five years a concentrated growth and colonization effort by humanity has added the worlds of Chi Rho, Tantalus, Pinnacle, Seti-456, Azure and Pantheon to its banner. Humanity now has nine star systems to its name and a population of 41 billion, 105,697 of which are Queens. The major reason behind this sudden growth is a cloning project known as _Project: Venus_.

**2077**: Across the galaxy on her homeworld of Thessia, Liara T'Soni is born.

**2084**: Mankind discovers the Arcturus System, they activate the Relay present there in order to run experiments and take scans of an active Relay. The system is sealed off for Military technological testing. Several 'fake' worlds are created with the use of Element Zero cores and large amounts of asteroids.

**2087**: A miraculous breakthrough allows mankind to discover a method of hyper-condensing materials to create 'Ultra-Dense Alloys' this allows for the construction of ships in excess of twenty kilometers. Along with the knowledge of carbon nanotubes and nanofibers, Orbital elevators become a possibility as does the Hyperwave Gate project and the CSO-Supercarrier, however more research is considered before attempting to create a CSO-Supercarrier. The source of this breakthrough is sub-atomic scans of the Arcturus Mass Relay.

**2090**: Mankind has now spread to over thirty worlds and has holdings in nearly sixty star systems. The Population has grown to a staggering 105 billion, the Novellus Council puts a moratorium on the colonization of new worlds and breeding limits are placed to prevent Mankind from growing beyond its capability to defend itself. Another set of CRS-Light Cruisers and two dozen CCS-Battlecruisers are planned, the Arcadia Shipyards are tripled in size to allow for the new level of demands on its facilities.

**2100**: Mankind completes the first of the Hyperwave Gates, the circular ring is given the codename 'Stargate' it is only a kilometer wide but is 10,000 kilometers in diameter. The 'Stargate' is left in orbit just beyond Pluto. While some wonder at the risk of placing such a strategic object so close to the homeworld, the risk is deemed acceptable by the fact a fleet of several dozen warships is constantly on alert should a call for help occur, they will be on location within seconds to render aid and should also act as a deterrent against an invasion of Earth.

**March – 2100**: A clan lead by their Queen Amelia Serras attempts a rebellion, the clan is quickly and mercilessly put down, with three hundred thousand members dying when their CCS-Battlecruiser Agamemnon is disable and blown into a star, the survivors and clan heiress are stripped of most of their G-Mods and their ability to connect to the Hive Mind, however their 'Vitam Nodes' are left functional. They are stripped of all of their knowledge related to human technology, culture and the location of their worlds, then using the newly created Stargate they are dumped in a barely functional frigate using ancient technology over the distant world codenamed Sierra-117.

**2105**: Mankind develops basic Terraforming techniques, with _Project: Ceres_ providing the knowledge needed to alter the chemical composition of a planet's terrain, _Project: Neptune_ allowing a planet's oceans to be alter on a massive scale and _Project: Uranus_ providing the information to alter a planet's atmosphere to match Earth's.

Over two dozen planets are tagged for Terraforming over the next two decades.

**X-C:ME**

**Project: Ceres**

_X-Com Research Report 27__th__ May 2105_

_Head Researcher: Dr. Laura Vahlen_

_Team Leader/s: Dr. Jack Pattillo, Dr. Ryan Haywood, Dr. Nick Miotti._

_TOP SECRET: ANY NON-AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL READING BEYOND THIS POINT WILL BE SUBJECT TO IMMEDIATE PUNITIVE ACTION_

_THIS DOCUMENT IS RF TAGGED ALL MOVEMENTS ARE BEING TRACKED_

_Planetary Soil Terraformation Research. _

_Project Codename: Ceres_

_The use of Nanobots as a Terraforming device was one of our first attempts and to our dismay they are either useless or would require so much expenditure that it wouldn't be feasible. So we looked at other methods, two were considered particularly successful, combining both solved our problems. The two methods are:_

_Method Alpha. Harvesting rock asteroids and using Nanobots to turn them into soil, then nutrients required for CO2-O2 photosynthesizing flora are added. This soil is then dumped by specially designed Phoenix-Class Colony Ships. While useful this method has the problem of only affecting the surface._

_Method Beta. A specially designed bacterium is dropped onto a planet's surface, this bacterium is programmed to change the chemical and biological composition of a planet's soil so that it is capable of supporting the flora needed for O2-CO2 respiring fauna. However direct exposure to sunlight renders the bacterium inert. _

_By combining the methods and using Method Beta when the planet is facing away from the sun and then placing Method Alpha's soil on top allows us to easily change the soil of a planet to one more suited to fauna and flora capable of supporting Humans._

_Planetary Soil Terraformation now available in the Colonization Section_

_End of Report_

**X-C:ME**

**Project: Neptune**

_X-Com Research Report 27__th__ May 2105_

_Head Researcher: Dr. Laura Vahlen_

_Team Leader/s: Dr. Jack Pattillo, Dr. Ryan Haywood, Dr. Nick Miotti._

_TOP SECRET: ANY NON-AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL READING BEYOND THIS POINT WILL BE SUBJECT TO IMMEDIATE PUNITIVE ACTION_

_THIS DOCUMENT IS RF TAGGED ALL MOVEMENTS ARE BEING TRACKED_

_Planetary Ocean Terraformation Research. _

_Project Codename: Neptune_

_The problem of Terraforming a planet's ocean falls into four categories_

_Category A: No Liquid at all, simply capturing Carbonaceous Asteroids and Ice Asteroids to collect the necessary resources. Then turning them into H2O adding Sodium Chloride with trace elements identical to what would be found in unpolluted Terran Ocean water and releasing it into depressions once a suitable atmosphere is present with the necessary life-forms for a salt water ecosystem. May take between 10-12 years._

_Category B: H2O present but lifeless, adding basic aquatic flora like algae to oxygenate the water and then slowly adding more complex fauna and flora until the apex predators are in place. May take between 10-12 years._

_Category C: Non-H2O liquid present, first is the removal or neutralization of existing liquid and then identical to Category B. However it can take an extra six months to a year before this operation is completed._

_Category D: Non-H2O liquid with primordial life present. Planet first undergoes a high level evaluation to see if disrupting a world where life has begun evolving is worth the cost, if not then the world is tagged for an observational satellite, if it is considered valuable enough. Then Category C is followed with extra filtering for fauna and flora._

_Planetary Ocean Terraformation now available in the Colonization Section_

_End of Report_

**X-C:ME**

**Project: Uranus**

_X-Com Research Report 27__th__ May 2105_

_Head Researcher: Dr. Laura Vahlen_

_Team Leader/s: Dr. Jack Pattillo, Dr. Ryan Haywood, Dr. Raymond Shen._

_TOP SECRET: ANY NON-AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL READING BEYOND THIS POINT WILL BE SUBJECT TO IMMEDIATE PUNITIVE ACTION_

_THIS DOCUMENT IS RF TAGGED ALL MOVEMENTS ARE BEING TRACKED_

_Planetary Atmospheric Terraformation Research. _

_Project Codename: Uranus_

_The Terraformation of a planet's atmosphere is a massive undertaking, the amount of time necessary for such an operation is dependent entirely on the atmosphere of the planet and its proximity to its star or other celestial objects._

_By using specially designed Aether-class Terraforming ships with Atmospheric alteration devices, existing Atmospheres are sucked into a Nanobot bath where the gases are altered to 29:70:1 mix of Oxygen, Nitrogen and Carbon Dioxide. Extra gases are brought in from atomically altered asteroid gases if the atmospheric pressure is below one Atmosphere. Then __**Project: Diana**__ can commence._

_Planetary Atmospheric Terraformation now available in the Colonization Section_

_End of Report_

**X-C:ME**

**Project: Diana**

_X-Com Research Report 27__th__ May 2105_

_Head Researcher: Dr. Laura Vahlen_

_Team Leader/s: Dr. Jack Pattillo, Dr. Ryan Haywood, Dr. Nick Miotti._

_TOP SECRET: ANY NON-AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL READING BEYOND THIS POINT WILL BE SUBJECT TO IMMEDIATE PUNITIVE ACTION_

_THIS DOCUMENT IS RF TAGGED ALL MOVEMENTS ARE BEING TRACKED_

_Planetary Ecosystem Introduction Research. _

_Project Codename: Diana_

_The hardest part about introducing an ecosystem to a planet is matching the ecosystem to the planet and biome. Once a Planet has completed __**Projects: Ceres**__ and __**Uranus**__ and is partially completed __**Project: Neptune**__. Then the introduction of an land/air based ecosystem can begin_

_The first part of the ecosystem is flora and pollinating insects like bees, once the flora has been established and covers a majority of the landmasses, then prey fauna like mice, deer and rabbits can be added. After a couple of years predator fauna like wolves, lions and hyenas are added._

_The total time for a planet's ecosystem to be introduced is between four to six years_

_Planetary Ecosystem Terraformation now available in the Colonization Section_

_End of Report_

**X-C:ME**

**2109**: The testing world Arcturus-III is destroyed by a new Plasma Weapon, designed for planetary bombardment, known as the Energy Projector. This technique of Orbital Bombardment causes the planet's surface to become a sort of charred black glass like substance, it is therefore referred to as 'Glassing', the Project behind the weapon (Codenamed Pluto) considers it a resounding success.

**X-C:ME**

**Project: Pluto**

_X-Com Research Report 15__th__ April 2109_

_Head Researcher: Dr. Laura Vahlen_

_Team Leader/s: Dr. Gavin Free, Dr. Michael Jones._

_TOP SECRET: ANY NON-AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL READING BEYOND THIS POINT WILL BE SUBJECT TO IMMEDIATE PUNITIVE ACTION_

_THIS DOCUMENT IS RF TAGGED ALL MOVEMENTS ARE BEING TRACKED_

_Planetary Orbital Bombardment Plasma Weaponry Research. _

_Project Codename: Pluto_

_The hardest part about this project was actually limiting the power of the Plasma weapons so that they only did surface damage and didn't cut into the surface without continued application._

_The answer to this problem came in the form of the 'Crystalline Lens', a massive artificial diamond that is over 100 meters across and has Hyperwave Energy pumped through it, this oval lens defocuses the Plasma Beam making it wider and less powerful, thus allowing us to produce a viable weapon capable of surface burning (Or Glassing as it is being referred to)_

_However a misaligned 'Crystalline Lens' can diffract the Plasma too much or increase its power exponentially, or even worse it can redirect to Plasma Beam back into the vessel. It is recommended to not use the 'Energy Projector' as we are terming it if the ship has suffered any damage within a hundred meters of the outer edge of the lens._

_This weapon is also easily repurposed for mining and as such we have also created a prototype Plasma Mining Beam. However a specially designed starship must be utilized due to the high power requirements of the Plasma Mining Beam._

_Energy Projector now available in the Engineering Department_

_Plasma Mining Beam now available in the Engineering Department_

_Plasma Mining Vessel now available in the Shipyards._

_End of Report_

**X-C:ME**

**2110**: Mankind discovers another sentient race, the Unggoy small in stature and weak of spirit these beings are struggling to survive after severe over-industrialization had severely damaged their planets ecosystem, mankind would never have found them if a Queen passing by hadn't heard their cries of sorrow through the void of space. The Unggoy are amazed when Mankind uses their Terraformation and cloning technology to repair the damage to their homeworld's (Balaho) ecosystem and atmosphere, in response the matriarchs of the Unggoy pledge their race to the service of Mankind.

**2111**: Mars is Terraformed, the first planet to be Terraformed. The process is a resounding success and hopes are high for the other worlds to undergo Terraforming.

**2112**: The Citadel Council discovers the exiled clan, the clan calling their 'race' Nephilim. Slowly start to integrate themselves into the Council Society, however internally every member of the clan wishes to return to the Hive Mind, only those born after the rebellion do not desire this.

**2114**: The Arcturus System is home to a massive explosion when an experimental gel made of Hyperwave Crystals and Elerium between the inner and outer armor layer from the prototype CAS-Assault Cruiser in the system comes in contact with the Mass Relay. The explosion destroys the system and leaves it a wasteland of energized Element Zero particles.

_**15**__**th**__** August 2114**__, Conference Room 4, X-Com Luna Base_

Shepard frowns at the report before her eyes, she then looks up at doctor Vahlen "So what you're saying is that the new experimental armor gel layer is wha caused the explosion?"

Vahlen nods and pulls up a holographic simulation of what happened "As you can see when we purposely overloaded the Ex Gel layer, not only did the outer layer of the CAS prototype disintegrate where we were striking, but the majority of the gel layer immediately vaporized when exposed to the cold of space. However some of it near the edges of the hole didn't and instead was flung out, it then immediately shot towards the Arcturus Relay. Upon impacting with the Relay Core it caused it to go super-critical and the resultant explosion destroyed the system"

Shepard sighs as she looks over the report again and then nods "Doctor Vahlen, you have a go. Collect and research the fragments of the Arcturus Relay"

Vahlen nods in pleasure and acknowledgement before turning around and leaving the room. Shepard sighs and murmurs "I know this will come back to bite me in the ass later, I just know it"

**X-C:ME**

**Project: Aegis**

_X-Com Research Report 15__th__ August 2114_

_Head Researcher: Dr. Laura Vahlen_

_Team Leader/s: Dr. Jack Pattillo, Dr. Ryan Haywood._

_TOP SECRET: ANY NON-AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL READING BEYOND THIS POINT WILL BE SUBJECT TO IMMEDIATE PUNITIVE ACTION_

_THIS DOCUMENT IS RF TAGGED ALL MOVEMENTS ARE BEING TRACKED_

_Hyperwave Crystal/Elerium gel armor layer Research. _

_Project Codename: Aegis_

_Upon designing the new CAS-Assault Cruiser we decided that a way of preventing the kinetic force created by the typical 'Mass Effect' weapon from damaging the internal systems and superstructure of our starships was necessary. The answer came from the discoveries of __**Project: Mercury**__ with the knowledge of how to transfer inertia to Sub-space we decided to see if kinetic force could also be transferred, to our surprise and joy we discovered that it was not only possible but ridiculously easy. It is simply a matter of changing the Hyperwave Crystal to setting 4 instead of 8._

_Anyway by combining the Hyperwave Crystals with Elerium in a high pressure environment we can create a gel compound of both, which we codenamed Ex-gel. This compound remains in a gel state even when returned to normal pressures, however upon contact with vacuum or extremely low temperatures (such as 0 degrees Kelvin A.K.A Absolute Zero) the Ex-gel vaporizes and cannot be recovered. _

_Upon discovering this we decided to place it as a layer between the outer Silver Alienite (formerly known as Titan Skin) armor layer and the inner Purple Alienite armor layer of the proposed CAS-Assault Carrier. The Silver Alienite layer was chosen for the outside for the reason that while structurally weaker then Purple Alienite and thus more vulnerable to kinetic weapons and explosions it has a higher melting point and is more resistance to lasers and plasma weaponry._

_Unfortunately when testing the limits of the gel layer in the Arcturus system less than one thousand kilometers from the Mass Relay, the armor shattered and the superheated and energized gel either vaporized or escaped. The superheating allowing the gel to remain semi-solidified even in a absolute zero vacuum. The globule of Ex-gel interacted with the Mass Relay Element Zero Core and caused it to go super-critical. The resultant explosion destroyed the prototype and blanketed the Arcturus System in Element Zero Dust and Dark Energy Radiation. Our shields grant us limited protection but we can only remain in Arcturus for around half an hour before the shields fail and we are exposed to Dark Energy (DE) Radiation. Which is one of the few types of radiation powerful enough to damage or fatally wound humans now._

_However probes have discovered that the Arcturus Relay is in pieces but scans can account for over 98% percent of the Relay. Only the Core is totally destroyed, by utilizing probes and specially armored Phoenix-class colony ships we can collect and transport the Relay fragments to a nearby location in Interstellar Space and study them. Perhaps we'll be able to understand the workings of the Relay._

_Arcturus Relay Recovery now available in the Space Command Division_

_Arcturus Relay In-Depth examination now available in the Research Division_

_Ex-gel Armor Layer now available in the Engineering Division._

_CAS-Assault Carrier now available in the Arcadia Shipyards._

_End of Report_

**X-C:ME**

**2115**: The first CAS-Assault Carrier 'Beaches of Normandy' is built at the Arcadia Shipyards, Shepard immediately takes it as her flagship, when asked why she wasn't waiting for the CSO-Supercarrier she simply shrugged and said "It's less overwhelming, besides there is nothing preventing me having two flagships, this one for when I want to be less conspicuous and the CSO-Supercarrier for when I want the universe to stand up and notice us"

Shepard authorizes the Relocation of the Arcturus Relay Fragments, it is a massive undertaking that is expected to take at least five years to complete.

**2117**: Of the two dozen worlds tagged for Terraforming, seven are complete and in the process of being colonized, eight are being Terraformed and the rest haven't been started yet.

**2118**: Smaller Hyperwave Gates nicknamed 'Warpgates' are created, they are only a thousand kilometers in diameter and a few hundred meters wide. But they provide a travel radius of 50,000 light-years. Several dozen are seeded throughout human space and up to twenty thousand light-years beyond it. On the planet codenamed Shanxi, in the Trialgra-Proxima System one of the 'Warpgates' (Number 27) crashes down unexpectedly due to a navigation software error, however it still reports functional and is left where it fell. The glitch in the navigational software is corrected and the next thirteen 'Warpgates' are sent to their destinations without problem. A replacement 'Warpgate' for Number 27 is sent to 27's original destination three months later.

**2120**: Twenty CAS-Assault Carriers are constructed, each one is controlled by a different clan. Had Mankind not been joined Psionically a war would most likely have resulted from the distribution of these warships.

**2121**: The Arcturus Relay Relocation is completed, currently the Relay pieces remain in Interstellar space around a Light-year from the Sol System, research upon the Relay begins in earnest.

**2125**: Another Sentient race is discovered by Humanity, the Yanme'e a species of sentient insects bound by a Psionic hive mind. Upon hearing Mankind's much more developed and overpowering hive mind they quickly beg to become servants of Mankind, Shepard personally goes to their homeworld of Palamok and accepts in person. The Queens of the Yanme'e are honored by Shepard's arrival and what started as a requesting to be enslaved becomes a partnership with Yanme'e being treated as equals with humanity.

_Star-system D-32, 5__th__ May __**2028**__. Aboard the CSSV 'Beaches of Normandy'_

Shepard glances down at the data-pad in her hand and then back at her sensor officer "Is this reading correct?" even though she knows it is she has to ask as part of the procedure.

The sensor officer nods an affirmative "Yes milady, we have picked up the signal of a sentient race on the fourth planet of this system, they appear to be on the cusp of interstellar travel, as we have detected satellites and signs of moon landings on both their planet's natural satellites"

Shepard nods in acceptance and then she stands up "Alright" Shepard hits the intercom (Had her ship only had humans this wouldn't be necessary but she has Yanme'e and Unggoy crewmembers as well) "Crew of the 'Beaches of Normandy' I have important news for you all, we have detected a sentient species on the fourth planet of this system, they have already discovered spaceflight and appear to be on the cusp of learning interstellar travel. As such our First Contact protocols command that we inform them of the wider universe, we will arrive in orbit over their planet in twenty minutes. Everybody get ready, we may be fired upon" Shepard cuts the comms and then turns to Mikhail who is standing to her right as her XO "Mikhail I need to get changed into my royal armor, you have the bridge"

Mikhail nods an affirmative and the Weapons officer shouts "Captain is leaving the bridge, XO has command"

The bridge crew immediately replies with "Ayes" indicating that they heard the change of command.

Shepard nods in happiness and heads to her cabin to get changed.

Upon entering she notices that her ten handmaiden drones have already pulled her royal armor out and gotten it ready for her to change into.

Created back at the turn of the century, Shepard's royal armor looks very similar to the Titan power armor from the Ethereal war, however it is more streamlined without any unnecessary parts, over top of that however is what looks like a royal dress, starting from her waist a long skirt drapes over the sides of her legs, splitting in the centre of the dress up to half way up her thigh to prevent her movement being hindered. The 'dress' fabric looks like it would easily tear, but is in fact a composite of the Alien Alloy, micro-Elerium reactors and shield generators woven into a golden looking fabric. The shield generated by the fabric is capable of stopping ship-level weaponry for a short period of time, theoretically no hand-held weapon should have the power to penetrate this shield, however Shepard chooses not to rely on theory and her armor plating is made of the same material the ship hulls are made of. Her armor is golden with red highlights, on her shoulder pads are her personal and clan symbols, on her left shoulder pad is an empty X-Com pentagon, the symbol of her clan and on her left is an Ouroboros, a dragon eating its own tail, with the head on the side of her shoulder pad that faces her back. On her head is a crown that appears to be made of gold, but is the same material as the armor, within the crown is a mind shield (Couldn't be too careful) and another Elerium reactor and shield generator. All in all the royal armor is the ultimate combination of the best of Humanity's armor-making skills and technology and the paranoia of a species that has faced extreme odds and survived.

On Shepard's waist is her plasma sword, a curiously designed device created back in the 2090's, it is a curved piece of metal with two half spheres on each end with a blue emitter running from a third from the back to a centimeter from the front. In the middle of the device is a tear drop shaped separator that divides the two bars where the fingers of the wielder go, it also contains the Elerium power cell and Psionic trigger mechanism, on one side of the tear drop is the clan symbol of the wielder on the other is their personal symbol. When the sword deploys it has two 'curved' sections where it meets the hilt and two 1.3 meter long prongs that are separated by a gap a palm's width wide, when active energy constantly sparks between the gap due to the electromagnetic fields holding the plasma in place. The color of the hilts casing indicates the caste rank of the wield, Shepard's is gold as is Mikhail's, Queens, their consorts and the princesses and princes have silver casing and the Sentients have a bronze casing.

The drones carry a slightly different sword however, they have a short sword hilt that deploys a plasma blade with a leaf shaped blade (The blade curves in slightly after the hilt and then widens into a oval shape) The drones are very good at wielding these blades.

**X-C:ME**

_CSSV 'Beaches of Normandy' Port Hanger 1_

Shepard walks into 'Beaches of Normandy's first port hanger to see a classic Skyranger being loaded up. While they could easily have created a more advanced or futuristic looking aircraft, Shepard liked the classic Skyranger. However Shepard isn't ignorant of the fact that it would rapidly become obsolete and has had every system on the Skyranger upgraded to the latest technology available to Humanity, it is also nearly twice as big so it can carry more soldiers, the current model can carry twelve MECs or twenty four soldiers.

Next to the Skyranger six Praetorian MECs are standing, the moment she walks out into the hanger they straighten up and salute. Next to the MECs are a group of X-Com Soldiers that survived the 'Day of Death', dressed in Alienite Guardian Armor (The grandchild of the Titan Armor). Lead by Lieutenant Leonard Church, Squad 'Freelancer' was unique in almost every way, instead of six members there are nine. They aren't solidly MEC or G-Mod and they are the most flippant about the rules. However the ninth Sheila Rodriguez the teams MEC warrior was being left behind due to space concerns, and they were on their best behavior as part of Shepard's Honor Guard. Mikhail is also waiting but he appears to be reading through a Data-pad. He looks up as Shepard gets close and smiles "It's nice to see you dress up on occasion, I wonder why you hate it so much?"

Shepard frowns in annoyance "Because the moment I dress up in anything feminine I get some many 'oh so helpful' men offering to do whatever I want"

Mikhail snorts in amusement "So basically, your entire lifestyle now"

Shepard opens her mouth to reply and then cocks her head and closes it "Alright, you win that one"

Mikhail chuckles at Shepard's reply "Stop the presses, I won an argument against Shepard"

Shepard shakes her head in feigned disgust "Ha ha, laugh it up, I hear the couch is comfortable"

Mikhail just raises an eyebrow, when he gets a glare in response he pantomimes zipping his mouth shut. Shepard smirks at Mikhail's Reaction "Get in the Ship, we're leaving"

**X-C:ME**

The Skyranger effortlessly disengages from the 'Beaches of Normandy' and flies down towards the planet below. While flying they lock onto a large fortification, their sensors pick up dozens of aircraft flying towards the fortification but none are armored, indicating that they must be planetary leaders heading towards their landing zone.

In a stone courtyard before a bridge leading to the fort, the Skyranger sets down surrounding it are hundred of individuals all around seven feet in height.

Shepard walks out of the Skyranger and spots one of the groups of individuals with ornate golden armor, guessing that they are important she starts to walk towards them, as she does so a commotion starts up on her left, she turns to see a smaller version of the individuals run out from between the adults and skid to a stop in front of her. Shepard idly notes that the little one's skin is leathery and instead of a lower jaw like humans and Unggoy it has four mandibles instead each with six teeth on them. Before any of the adults can reach she kneels down and taps her left index finger to it/her forehead. With a simple Psionic push she learns the child's name, gender and language (and a smidgen of their culture) and she then says in perfect Sanghelilian, a curious language that resembles Japanese with some Greek influences "Children should be careful, sometimes monsters smile at you before they strike" The young Sangheili nods in amazement as the surrounding adult Sangheili all exclaim in shock and amazement "Now you should return to your uncle Thara 'Mdama"

Thara's mandibles flutter in shock "How…"

Shepard smiles at the Thara "My species can see much with a simple touch, your tongue, your name and a measure of your spirit. You burn brightly to those that see, if you were of my blood you would be highly respected by my kin. But unfortunately you are not, it is a shame, but you are Sangheili and I am not"

Shepard then turns to the crowd around them and asks "Who among you is leader of this land upon which I have landed"

One of the golden armored ones walks forward "I am Thel 'Vadam and I am Kaidon of Vadam Keep" Thel puts his right hand over his left heart and Shepard notices that the Sangheili have four fingers, no they have two fingers and two thumbs, it is just that they have one thumb on either side of their fingers.

Shepard nods to Thel and answers with "I am Suzanne Shepard and I am the High Queen of my kind, all who call themselves human are under my banner. I greet you Kaidon Thel 'Vadam" Shepard places her left hand on the centre of her chest and extends her right "I do hold a weapon and wish for peace between our people"

Thel extends his left hand which is empty and responds with "I also carry no weapon and wish for peace between our people" Thel finishes the saying with curiosity in his voice "As such I welcome you to my keep, may your blade be forever sharp" ending the old Sangheili peace talk greeting with the customary greeting ending.

Shepard nods at Thel and then finishes the greeting "And may your mind remain keen, to see friend from foe"

**X-C:ME**

The talks proceed with simple dignity, the Sangheili are interested in learning more of the universe but wonder what the cost is, when told that they would get Hyperwave FTL and sensors for free they refuse, they consider it an insult to their honor to be given the technology for free. Shepard then proposes that they instead serve Humanity for a decade and at the end each Sangheili will be given the knowledge to build Hyperwave FTL drives and sensors as payment.

This sparks an intense 'discussion'

_Grand Hall, Vadam Keep, State of Vadam, Sanghelios, Urs Trinary System._

Shepard smiles as the Sangheili all nod in acceptance of her proposal, almost all. Across the room one of the Sangheili stands up and shouts "NO, why should we serve these weaklings, we should just take the technology from their corpses, if they are so weak as to send a female to negotiate, then they must be truly pathetic" Some of the Kaidons nod in agreement

Shepard snorts loudly in derision "Or in my species it is part of our culture for females to lead. Quit speaking fool, with every word from your mouth you simply prove your weakness, if you truly think I am weak, face me in combat" The rest of the Kaidons who didn't nod jeer at the fool.

Thel chuckles in amusement "Jul' Mdama, it appears this _female_ has spoken true, will you face her or prove too cowardly"

The Sangheili, Jul stands and growls "I will face her, what is your forfeiture?"

Shepard stands slowly and smiles "If you wins I will give you the technology you seek" Jul laughs in the thought of an easy victory "BUT" Jul stops laughing "If I win, then your lands, people and goods will belong to me till the next generation is ready to face me in combat for them"

Jul growls in anger at such a request, but before he can respond Thel speaks up "The challenge has been issued and the terms stated, let us now head out to the Combat Hall for the Duel"

**X-C:ME**

_Combat Hall_

Shepard stands with a smirk on her face as Jul walks towards her dressed in the golden armor of a Kaidon. In his hand is a metal sword that looks near identical to her deployed Plasma Sword if slightly longer. Jul growls at Shepard "Do you even have a sword, _woman_"

Shepard just smiles sweetly before using her right hand to grab her sword and in one slick motion deploy it with the customary '_swish_' of air being displaced by the superheated plasma within the sword's electromagnetic energy field. Jul and the Sangheili are taken aback by how similar the sword is to their own, Thel on the other hand watches with barely concealed amusement, he has no doubt that Jul will not be walking out of this Hall.

Jul gets over his shock and charges straight at Shepard, Shepard just shakes her head and with her left hand catches his sword when Jul's mandibles flare in shock Shepard smiles and says "Did you really think this highly advanced armor couldn't stop a simple sword? Fool" Shepard then slashes with her sword.

Jul's mandibles go slack as purple blood spills from his mouth, then from the middle of his abdomen a split appears and his torso, head and arms fall backwards.

Shepard looks down on the defeated Sangheili while unconsciously deactivating and sheathing her sword "Idiot, what lunacy made you charge a highly advanced alien with armor that would definitely stop your sword? Fool, perhaps it is better that you are dead" Several snorts from some of the watching Sangheili indicate that they think the same way. Shepard then turns to Thel "Do you think there'll be an more opposition to my idea?"

Thel shakes his head as he holds down laughter "No, I think you have definitely made an impression"

Shepard smiles at that "Then I've done what I set out to accomplish"

As Shepard departed for her ship she once again ran into Thara' Mdama who is now one of her subjects. With the permission of the Sangheili Kaidon Council (Of which she is now a member) Shepard took Thara with her back to the CSSV 'Beaches of Normandy'

**X-C:ME**

**2129**: The first of the Sangheili start their decade of service, Thel' Vadam asks for and is given permission to serve on Shepard's flagship. The Sangheili despite reservations quickly become accustomed to Human society as despite minor differences it is not that much different from their own. They also get along well with the Yanme'e and Unggoy that serve on the Human warships.

**2130**: Mankind in a yearly 'bonus' for the Sangheili, mark over a dozen systems around their homeworld for Terraformation or colonization by the Sangheili. The Sangheili graciously accept the 'bonus' recognizing what it really was in a instant, a gift. But since Mankind made an effort to pretend it wasn't then they could happily ignore that with their honor satisfied.

Research upon the Arcturus Relay is finally completed.

**X-C:ME**

**Project: Gateway**

_X-Com Research Report 3__rd__ February 2130_

_Head Researcher: Dr. Laura Vahlen_

_Team Leader/s: Dr. Jack Pattillo, Dr. Ryan Haywood._

_TOP SECRET: ANY NON-AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL READING BEYOND THIS POINT WILL BE SUBJECT TO IMMEDIATE PUNITIVE ACTION_

_THIS DOCUMENT IS RF TAGGED ALL MOVEMENTS ARE BEING TRACKED_

_Arcturus Relay In-Depth Examination Research. _

_Project Codename: Gateway_

_I am in awe, whatever being created the Mass Relays came close to creating the perfect device, however it does have some flaws. Mass Relays are highly adaptable and often are 'linked' with other Relays. The Arcturus Relay was linked with a Relay somewhere in or around the Sol System._

_As for how the Relays function, it is incredible. The Relays utilize Element Zero by massively overcharging it to the point of near meltdown (Hence why the active Relays we have observed have blue 'lightning' flickering around the Core) and then using Quantum Entanglement to bind the Relays to a partner. This is true of the Arcturus Relay, however smaller 'Secondary' Relays don't have this and instead simply use Spatial Coordinates to create the FTL Tunnel._

_The Mass Relay FTL Tunnel is in fact travelling partially in Sub-space, hence why there are no impacts when using a Mass Relay even when it is surrounded by asteroids or gases that would cause extreme damage to a starship if hit at Superluminal speeds. The Mass Relays are similar in function to the Halos or Warpgates, however they are more limited in scope due to the limitations of size, in order for a Mass Relay to reach the power required to match a Halo Installation it would have to be around forty kilometers long, which is approaching the feasible 'maximum' size that a Element Zero Technological branch object can reach and remain economically viable._

_While we now possess the knowledge required to make Mass Relays there is one small problem, the Mass Relays draw upon Dark Energy from some sort of 'control' station, unless we discover this stations location we will be unable to fully create a Mass Relay with sufficient power to be worth the effort both physically and economically._

_We also however discovered the base equations behind Element Zero FTL Drives and are now able to begin designing our own from scratch without using 'Prothean' FTL protocols. We have also discovered the cause of the Element Zero overloads that happen when it is subjected to Hyperwave Radiation. As such we can now create 'shielded' rooms to carry Element Zero, however the shielding is extremely expensive and very bulky, only a ship of CCS-Battlecruiser size (1.1 kilometers by 680 meters by 350 meters) or larger is capable of housing a Element Zero Cargo Bay._

_Mass Relay Construction (Sub-standard) now available in the Space Command Division._

_Element Zero FTL Drive Research now available in the Research Division._

_Element Zero Cargo Bay Shielding now available in the Engineering Division._

_Mass Relay Protocols now available in the Computing Division._

_End of Report_

**X-C:ME**

**2135**: Mankind has now expanded to over fifty different worlds and has holdings in over a hundred systems. The population of Mankind is now at the five hundred billion mark. There are now over forty CAS-Assault Carriers in existence.

The Unggoy have expanded to six different systems and are contemplating a seventh.

The Yanme'e have nearly a dozen worlds to their name already, but are checking their growth to ensure that they (and Humanity) have the resources to secure those worlds.

The Sangheili have three worlds to their name and have plans for another five already in the making.

**2139**: Saren Arterius is born on the Turian homeworld of Palaven

**2140**: Mankind officially releases the Sangheili from their contract, however none of the Sangheili are unhappy with the current arrangement and query the possibility of remaining where they are. Shepard quickly negotiates this with the Sangheili and they are now inducted into Mankind as full citizens, which means instead of being paid with technology they can now request whatever they need just as any human can.

Mankind doesn't have an economy beyond the idea of 'you want/need it, you got it' as such any human being can requisition any human-made item as long as they hold a job of some sort, something that is ridiculously easy in the current society as all some people simply have to do is direct the drones as they work.

**2146**: On the Hanar homeworld of Kahje, Thane Krios is born.

**2150**: Shepard having an instinctual 'gut' feeling that something is looming on the horizon, conceives a Royal heir. Her Daughter Anastasia Shepard is born on October 10th 2150. Thel' Vadam and Thara' Mdama are 'conscripted' into being babysitters for the precocious child.

**2151**: Thel' Vadam requests a transfer of positions. Shepard gleefully declines.

**2152**: Thane Krios begins his training under the Hanar as an Assassin.

**2155**: Saren Arterius begins his military service for the Turian Hierarchy.

**2157**: The presence of the first Halo Installation in orbit around the Sol System circularizes Pluto's orbit

A research flotilla is sent with armed escorts to the Trialgra-Proxima system to study the 'Shanxi Relay'

Liara T'Soni under the alias of Alara T'Kani illegally buys a civilian transports and heads off to the unexplored sector between the Inner Council Space and Batarian Space.

The Vakarian family after earning a vacation due to hard work is forced to flee from Batarian slavers, while fleeing they meet up with and are joined by Liara.

Both the runaway Asari and the Turian family end up in what they think is a dead end, only to discover a strange race by a Mass Relay in the system they had just entered

**2157**: Mankind makes First Contact with the Citadel Council Races. After a hundred years the New Age of Exploration ends and the Age of the Citadel begins.

**X-C:ME**

_Thank you for reading this chapter and I hope you enjoyed it, anyone who has ideas or just a certain scene they wish to see, please review or PM me and I'll do my best to introduce those ideas and scenes into the story._

_There is a Easter Egg or two in this chapter, kudos to those who spot them._

_The Next Chapter will be out within a month, but it may be delayed depending on whether or not my inspiration for this story remains. _

_The chapter will be titled: __**The Shanxi Incident Part I**_

_dragonsong2795_


	4. The Shanxi Incident Part I - Discovery

_So here it is, the well awaited fourth Chapter (although technically it's chapter three by my count). It was supposed to be uploaded three days ago, but I got roped into looking after my nieces and nephew and then the internet went down (God Damn IT!) and so I had to release this chapter later then I wanted to. On the upside this gave me time to re-write the (Spoilers) Space Battle to be less Humans Rule everyone else dies instantly. If someone asks I will post the originally planned space battle at the end of the next chapter._

_Now for Review Replies!_

_**Lord of Anything**__: No the Lekgolo, Mgalekgolo (Hunters for anyone who isn't a Halo fan) will not be appearing as I think that would be pushing it too far into the Halo domain. Only the Unggoy (Grunts), Yanme'e (Drones) and Sangheili (Elites) will appear in this story. But perhaps a certain Spartan might appear!_

_**Deathtroll**__: The Council's reaction will be interesting, especially when Shepard lets them know what she thinks of them, a advanced warning, it won't be pretty. Humanity is very strict on certain issues, two of which the Council either lets happen or was directly responsible for._

_**edboy4926**__: As I have said above only three Halo races will be appearing, although the Engineers would be very interesting to describe to the a Council Race._

_**subsider34**__: Some of the technologies and cultural shifts weren't mentioned on the timeline as they were either inconsequential or I didn't feel like revealing them. Also I had to keep it to a reasonable length._

_Also the Humans have deciphered the Prothean Language and that is where they got the term 'Mass Relay' as it was mentioned in the archive several times. However the Charon Relay was never specifically mentioned as it was thought obvious to the Protheans of its existence._

_**Guest A**__: Cerberus may appear, but they will be more a terrorist organization then the Actual Cerberus, who at least have mankind's best intentions in mind (And you know what they say about the Road to Hell and Good intentions) Jack Harper A.K.A the Illusive Man will appear however, but in a different role to the one he had in canon._

_**Guest B**__: Primera: is answered above. _

_Segundo: The Drones are not slaves, rather they are a caste born to work. Can something truly be called slavery if the one thought enslaved not only loves their role but also has been given the opportunity to escape from the perceived slavery but never taken it. Think about that for a second. _

_Tercera: Read on to find out!_

_**Leonas**__: I have already PM'd you with a response but I will repeat it here: _Humanity is still independent, Rebellions can and do happen even in Hive Mind insects they have been observed, usually when a younger queen chooses to stay rather than leave.

As for the Nephilim, they still have some information on Humanity, but they are keeping it secret and slowly winding their way into Citadel Society in hopes of finding something (Anything) that they can use to show their loyalty to Shepard again and regain their position as full Homo Novus.

_**GreenRena**__: It is actually quite difficult as I have to think through the eyes of several trillion rather than a single person. I think the biggest problem most authors encounter is that they make all the beings emotionless and make them all subservient to the Hive Mind. Where in this story the Hive Mind is more akin to a really advanced communication network more than anything else._

_**Aoirann**__: Who exactly were you quoting?_

_**thepkrmgc**__: I have already answer your review in a PM but for everyone else, The range of a Secondary Mass Relay is 25,000 light-years, it requires almost no time to charge and the only drawback is you require another Mass Relay to get back. The Hyperwave FTL Drive can only reach 10,000 light-years with a similar charge time, 17,500 with a three minute charge time and 25,000 with a three hour charge time. Personally I think the Mass Effect FTL is faster but more limited, where as the Hyperwave FTL is unbound by restraints, but is far slower._

_**Skelo**__: No, no matter how awesome there won't be duel wielded red Lightsabers, but duel wielded Plasma Swords… maybe._

_Now that's over almost time to go on with the story, first however I made a mistake when I forgot to add Garrus' birth date in. Canonically he is between two and four years younger than Shepard. So in this story he was born in __**2152**__ the same year Thane began his assassin training._

**_Edit: Fixed the Asari equal Shepard Problem, or at least I hope I did. Still trying to figure out how that happened._**

* * *

**The Shanxi Incident Part I – Discovery**

**X-C:ME**

Shepard idly strums her fingers on the armrest of her 'throne' as she observes the two research ships in the flotilla conducting high detail scans of the 'Shanxi Relay' out of sheer boredom she sends out a 'Warpgate' ping and is shocked to get a reply from the nearby planet of Shanxi. She immediately sends one of the eight CRS-Light Cruisers off to discover what responded with just a thought.

From a outside observers point of view there are thirteen ships that are nearly identical if not differing in size and in one case color. Eight smaller purple ships with their names proudly painted upon their port and starboard main sections around seven hundred and fifty meters long, three hundred and twenty meters wide and a hundred and fifteen meters deep, these are the CRS-Light Cruisers. Four larger purple ships at one point one kilometers long, six hundred and eight meters wide and three hundred and fifty meters deep, the CCS-Battlecruisers. And finally a behemoth silver ship that is a staggering five kilometers long, 1 kilometer wide and six hundred meters deep, this is a rare and powerful CAS-Assault Cruiser.

Without any indication of communication one of the smaller purple ships, a CRS-Light Cruiser breaks off from the formation and heads off to investigate a nearby planet. Despite being three quarters of a kilometer long the CRS has some incredible speed, once it reaches forty kilometers away from the rest of the Research Flotilla defense group it engages its Hyperwave FTL Drive and in a burst of golden energy the CSSV Las Vegas is launched at Superluminal speeds towards the distant planet of Shanxi.

**X-C:ME**

_Unknown System, 15 Light-years from the Trialgra-Proxima System, Three hours earlier._

Two starships soar away from a fleet of twenty warships, the two vessels are very different.

One of the starships is very angular with a centre rectangular box and two sweeping wings starting a third in from the rear thrusters. The 'wings' have several plates with Heat Radiators present arranged to look like feathers or overlapping scales. To be more specific is a Secundus-class Military cruiser, however it has been demilitarized and consequently is missing half the armaments that a Secundus class vessel would normally have.

The other starship is very elegant with a central oval shaped cylinder with two prongs sticking out on either side of the centre-line of the starship. It's smooth contours and blue tinted plating give the impression of a aquatic animal. It is a Kelahme-class civilian freighter.

These two starships belong to a Turian and a Asari respectively. The Turians are tall about six foot on average, a foot shorter than the average Human, but equal in average height with the Asari. They have plating on their faces and body that can run the gambit from steel blue to dull red, these plates are to help protect them from the power radiation of their cradle world's star. Their legs are different to most other races as they have two long protrusions the extend out past their knees, these protrusions can make it difficult for Turians to fold their knees. The Turians are also almost unique in the fact that they are based on Dextrorotation(Dextro)-Amino Acids rather than Levorotation(Levo)-Amino Acids.

The Asari, equal in height to the Turians, appear to be on the surface blue skinned Human women, with the exception of having a short crest of tentacles instead of hair and small scales all over their body reminiscent to fish and other scaled aquatic animals. The Asari are an all female race with the unique ability to 'meld' their minds with members of any gender and race in order to procreate. This leads them to be a very diplomatic race due to the genetic deficits that are beginning to show up with each new generation of 'pureblood' Asari, without the injection of new genes from other species they may end up going extinct within a few generations. The fact that they live for millennia and often don't take permanent partners until they are well over two hundred is another factor in this as they cannot easily relate to other species and therefore they tend to pick partners from their own species.

The Turian ship is full of soldiers and their families getting a vacation at the Hierarchy's cost due to a recommendation from the Asari Matriarchy in ways of keeping their soldiers (And civilians) happy and more productive. The current captain of the ship created solely for that purpose is Adrien Victus, a Turian Lieutenant known of his unconventional tactics and protective nature towards his men.

The Asari ship is piloted by a single Asari, known to the Turians as Alara T'Kani, her real name is Liara T'Soni, having created an alias and snuck out of her ancestral home after feeling overburdened and a bit of what Humans refer to as 'Cabin Fever' she illegally purchased a civilian freighter starship and headed off towards the unexplored region between Council and Batarian space. Unbeknownst to Liara a large fleet of Asari ships are tracking her lead by her upset and worried mother Benezia T'Soni.

Behind the two ships are a fleet of twenty Batarian warships, the ships don't have the grace of the Asari nor the structure of the Turians, they have slight differences between each ship and are excessively blocky and bristling with weaponry. But they aren't trying to destroy their prey oh no, these Batarians are slavers who are trying to capture their prey. Their holds are already full of captured races from all over Citadel Space. The only races not present are the Krogan and Vorcha, the Batarians aren't that crazy.

A average Batarian stands between 6'1 and 6'7 and they are characterized by their orange toned skin, tall heads and dual pairs of eyes one pair on top of the other. They actually look like shorter orange four eyed humans. The average Batarian is very egotistical and self-serving, they are afraid of many things but the one thing that terrifies them more than anything else is the possibility of being blinded, this is due to their religious beliefs. Unfortunately for the Batarians before the week is over Humanity will be aware of that fact, and they will use it to horrifying effect over the next decade. But that is for later, right now the Batarians are cursing as the Turian and Asari ships go to FTL. They immediately start scouting for them, an action that will lead to the beginning of the end for their government and will push their race to the brink of extinction.

**X-C:ME**

_Aboard the Turian Ship TSV 'Light of Menae'_

Adrien Victus, a twenty year old Turian with an impressive service record and a reputation for getting his men out alive no matter the circumstances scowls as the ship moves to FTL with the Asari vessel beside them matching every move.

It galled him to flee from a fight, but even though he hated it he knew that one civilian ship and a repurposed former cruiser with half the armament of one still in military service could possibly stand up to eight other cruisers and twelve frigates. Even at full strength with a high competent crew those were insane odds at best and suicidal at worst.

They were being forced further and further into the unexplored territories between the Galactic East edge of Council Space and Batarian space, an unexplored area that had no connecting Relays present, although hope that one will be found eventually is something all the Citadel Races await with both curiosity and fear, curiosity for what worlds lay beyond and fear of what might lurk in the unexplored sectors of space.

Although Xeno-archeologists were around eighty percent certain that the Prothean homeworld lies somewhere within this unexplored expanse, Adrien Victus neither knew this nor did he honestly care, he is a soldier not a scientist and the lives of nearly a dozen Turian families were under his care.

**X-C:ME**

_Three hours later_

Adrien Victus sighs at the feel of the FTL Drives slowing and the beginning of their return to subluminal speeds. Mere seconds after the blue halo of Mass Effect FTL travel terminates he starts giving orders.

"Sensors, find us a Relay or planet to hide on immediately, we're vulnerable out here"

"Helm, keep us moving forward at eighteen units per tick (3,798 kilometers a second (Around 0.0125% the Speed of Light) one unit equals 211 kilometers)"

"Comms inform Mrs. T'Kani about our intentions and ask if her sensors are picking up anything useful"

"Aye, sir" comes the response from the three bridge officers that Victus had addressed.

Victus is about to order some more actions when the sensor officer shouts out in shock "Spirits above!"

Victus immediately hones in on this exclamation "What is it Sensors?"

The sensor officer one Primus Vakarian looks at his commanding officer with shock and hints of fear in his eyes and expression "Sir I have picked up fifteen ships present in this system, they do not match the profiles of any known race, the smallest of these ships is 750 meters by 320 meter by 115. There are eight of these, seven clustered with the other ships around a Mass Relay and the other one by the second planet in the system. The next largest ship is 820 meters by 400 meters by 200 meters there are two of them, they appear to be a different design compared to the others but have a similar energy reading. Then we have four Dreadnoughts a 1.1 kilometers by 608 meters by 350 meters" Primus falls silent at this

Victus takes this all in then notices an anomaly "You said there are fifteen ships but you have only mention fourteen, what about the fifteenth?"

Primus' mandibles flare out in fear and shock "T-the last ship is f-five kilometers long"

Throughout the bridge the famous Turian discipline breaks and all the bridge members shout or curse in shock.

Victus staggers back in shock "F-five kilometers! That's almost five times larger than any Dreadnought in Citadel Space"

Primus nods shakily "Sir, that's not all"

Victus shudders slightly at those words "What more Primus"

Primus points to his screen and Victus reads the readout on the energy signatures of the ships "Spirits, the weakest barriers present of those ships are nearly three times stronger than those of a Dreadnought!"

A couple of the less disciplined Turians faint in shock while the rest swallow hard and mutter to the spirit of the 'Light of Menae' to save them from this situation.

Victus stars shouting orders again "Comms inform Mrs. T'Kani to keep close to us"

"Helm, take us towards the Mass Relay and the alien fleet"

Then Victus stops and prays aloud "By spirits let us hope they're friendly, we have taken too much damage to risk a fight" Silently the entire bridge crew (those still conscious) agree with him and add their own prayers

**X-C:ME**

Shepard is idly musing at what a Warpgate could be doing on Shanxi when her Psionic connection to the 'Beaches of Normandy' and its AI Artemis alert her of an interesting development. Shepard brings her ship around and sends out an order over comms and intercom "All ships and crewmen, we have just detected an sentient space faring alien race. Prepare First-Contact protocols. As of right now we are on alert status, these aliens might not be friendly. Especially if they worship the Mass Relays and see us messing with one. All Sangheili and Marines arm up for possible boarding"

Next to Shepard a hologram of a woman with her features but in Ancient Greek Hunting clothing appears "Mother, I have done an in-depth scan of the ships approaching, they are two different designs. One appears to be civilian ship and is 300 meters by 250 meters by 80 meters and the other looks like it is a former military vessel which is 650 meters by 400 meters by 100 meters. Both have signs of battle, but it looks like they have been attacked by multiple ships somewhere between eight and thirty by my estimations"

Shepard nods in acknowledgement as Thel walks up in golden painted Sangheili type Guardian Armor to stand on her left while Mikhail is on her right dressed in his own armor. Thel looks at a close up visual of the military or former military vessel "That military ship, it bears many scars, some older than the recent ones, it is a very old warship. I would like to meet the race that built it on friendly terms, they have a very interesting design, one that is meant to face an enemy"

Mikhail nods in agreement "You're right for a race like that to retreat, whatever is chasing them must either be vastly stronger or must outnumber them four to one or more"

Shepard getting an errant thought asks something "Artemis, is there any sign of plasma damage or other Ethereal weapons on that ship?" the Human bridge crew mutters under their breaths at this and the Sangheili, Yanme'e and Unggoy all shift uneasily, in their minds anything that can make the Humans look uneasy and slightly afraid is something to be feared.

Artemis shakes her head to indicate a negative "No, they appear to have been done by some sort of kinetically launched round, judging by the presence of Unknown Element 21 (Element Zero) they appear to utilize the Mass Effect style technology found in the Martian ruins" A overlay appears over the visuals of the two ships with a dark blue 'core' appearing near the rear of the ships.

Shepard nods in acknowledgement "So if worse comes to worse we can Hyperwave jump them and hope our armor holds against the explosion?"

Artemis seems to pause a second "The chance of full armor penetration is minimal, but it is a possibility if they are angled the right way"

Shepard thinks over the possibilities of such a maneuver. Mikhail 'overhearing' her chain of thought shakes his head "That would be an unnecessary risk Susan, we would be better off using a well aimed plasma bolt and FTL jump to snipe their cores leaving them dead in the water with minimal damage and risk"

Thel nods in agreement with Mikhail "That is the best plan if we wish to capture them, otherwise our weapons can easily destroy their ships with minimal risk to us"

Shepard nods slowly as she contemplates the options given to her by her consort/husband and chief (Non-human) advisor. A piping voice sounds out from behind her "What if they are friendly"

Shepard smiles as she turns and regards her daughter Anastasia (Ana) Shepard, looking almost like a miniature version of her the only difference is her hair rather than being a luscious red like hers is instead a luminous white like her fathers. The fact that her entire clan except for those from before the 'Day of Death' are alternate between luscious red and luminous white has lead her clan to have an un-official marker in their unique hair colors. Shepard however yanks her attention back to the emerald green eyes of her daughter boring into her. Shepard sadly smiles as she talks to her daughter "Because Ana, sometimes the unknown can be dangerous, we don't want to hurt them, but if they attack we must. Although you are just a little too young, you'll understand when you're taught, but I should tell you the basics now"

Shepard slips into her 'story time' voice that she uses when she reads to her daughter before bed (Young humans having to sleep daily rather than weekly like an adult) and begins "Long ago, before we could fly through the stars like we can now, we would often stare up into the night sky and wonder what miracle lay out there. Unfortunately for us, instead of miracles or friendly beings the first thing that found us. Were monsters. They did horrible things to us Ana, they cared little for the pain they caused or the fear they spread. We still do not know what they wanted, but we could not let them win. So we fought, we fought long and hard. We won, but everything changed. Once we were like the Unggoy, Yanme'e and Sangheili, we had life-spans measured in years rather than eons. That changed when we beat the monsters, the Ethereals. We gained great power and ascended to what we are now, Novus, The Unprecedented. But" Ana and the listening in Unggoy, Yanme'e and Sangheili froze "When the fight was over, out of eight billion people, eight billions individual stories and irreplaceable individuals. Only three hundred million were left, three percent of our race. We rebuilt, we grew back into our splendor and we strode forth into the stars with the technology taken from the monsters. But we made two vows, the first was to never let a monster like the Ethereals walk on our homeworld again and the other was to make sure that we never became monsters either"

Shepard stands from her throne and opens her arms wide as if taking in all the beings on the bridge "And to see the proof of our second vow all you need to do is look at this bridge, rather than slay the unknown and conquer like the Ethereals, we sought to understand. We could have left the Unggoy to perish, but that would make us monsters. We could have treated the Yanme'e like slaves, but that would make us monsters. We could have conquered the Sangheili, but that"

Ana pipes up and says "Would make us monsters?"

Shepard smiles at her daughter and heir and kneels down to hug her "Yes, Ana, that would make us monsters. We do not want to be monsters, but that is the danger that comes with power. Humans used to be weak and greedy when given power, only unique and uncommon individuals could resist the dark side of power" Shepard releases Ana from her hug.

Ana looks confused and asks "What's the dark side of power?"

Before Shepard can answer Thel does "The dark side of power, is that it can turn good people into arrogant, selfish monsters that wish to hurt others to prove they are 'better'"

Shepard nods slowly "Humans used to be the same, we would put down others for the stupidest of reasons, everything from the color of our skin to the scores of our last math test. We were on the verge of becoming monsters" Shepard then adds a Psionic message to her daughter '_But instead, we have become protectors and guardians. You must listen and learn Ana, one day you might be the one to guide Humanity. Do not let power draw you down and destroy you. Because it might just take all of humanity with you. Do you understand_'

Ana nods in response which confuses Thel slightly until he realizes that Shepard had been talking Psionically with her daughter.

Shepard smiles and hugs her daughter again "Don't worry Ana, I will be around for a long time, all you have to do is watch me and you'll know how to become a good ruler, you've already started. It would have been easy for you to remain silent and not spoken up to ask why we were not trying to befriend the aliens. That strength, to stand up in front of people screaming or talking about doing something that you don't agree with is part of being a ruler. The next part, is to be able to let them understand your point of view while understanding theirs as well. But you're a little young for that yet" Shepard sees Thara walk in looking for Ana "Now go with Thara, Ana, and put on your armor. I don't want you to be hurt Ana" Ana nods and hugs her mother extra tight before letting go and running off towards Thara who nods thankfully at Shepard.

Shepard stands up and turns back to the holographic control board that is in front of her 'throne', beyond the Holo-board she can see the bridge crew get the ship ready for any emergency. Shepard nods to Thel "Thank you for informing Thara of Ana being here Thel"

Thel just nods in acknowledgement of the thanks. Mikhail smirks at the Sangheili, he was reserved until they had alcohol, then all bets were off. Thankfully Thel and Shepard had never woken up in bed after a night of drunken sex, that would have lead to Thel having to fight Mikhail due to the nature of their cultures. Women however were fine and Shepard occasionally tried to get him in a threesome with some of her female soldier buddies from before the war that never ended up as part of X-Com. He was still refusing, but he didn't know if he could keep it up forever. Something Shepard was counting on secretly.

**X-C:ME**

"Sir, the alien vessels have noticed us and are heading towards us. Spirits they're fast. 26 units per tick (5,486 Kilometers) and rising" Primus reports to Victus as he keeps track of the alien ships heading towards them.

Victus nods at the information "Helm, as soon as they get within 40 units (8,440 kilometers) bring us to a dead stop"

The helm officer nods in acknowledgement of the order "Aye sir"

Victus then turns to the Weapons officer "Weapons, power down everything but the GARDIAN Array. We don't want them to think we are hostile"

Primus reports their current distance "126 units (26,586 Kilometers) and closing sir"

Primus then frowns and exclaims "Spirits damn it. Sir the Batarian slavers have just dropped out of FTL, they are charging weapons"

**X-C:ME**

Heddah Mr'kan the leader of the Batarian slavers doesn't even wait for his sensor officer to report the conditions of the system they had just jumped into "Weapons, disable those two ships, we're not letting those future slaves escape again"

Little did he know that that one order would lead to the deaths of billions of Batarians, but as they say hindsight is twenty-twenty.

**X-C:ME**

Shepard frowns as twenty new contacts appear on sensors. Artemis immediately reports the contacts "Twenty ships, no twenty warships. Eight are larger with dimensions of 700 meters by 500 meters by 200 meters. Twelve smaller ships with dimensions of 400 meters by 230 meters by 110 meters. All are heavily armed, biological scanning shows each of the larger ships cargo bays are filled with beings of a different species from the rest of the ship. We have positive matches with the occupants of the original two vessels"

Shepard's quick mind honed by over a century of ruling joins the dots first "Slavers, Artemis is there any way of disabling the ships without harming the slaves?"

Artemis immediately calculates the odds "Yes, the cargo bays are all near the bow and keel of the ships away from the core and other important areas, in case of an escape I would imagine"

Shepard immediately responds "Send targeting data to the rest of the fleet, codename the large ships as Gamma's and the small ones as Deltas and recall the CSSV Las Vegas"

Shepard closes her eyes and Psionically orders "**_Silent Star_**_, **Europa Child** and **Warrior's Sin** form up on the Research vessels, you'll be codenamed Lambda. **Lost Serendipity**, **Cairo**, **Beijing**, **Madrid**, **Adelaide**, **Seattle,** **York** and **San Francisco** targeting data is being uploaded to you, disable the enemy ships codenamedGammas, also prepare boarding parties, you will be codenamed Alpha. **Tokyo** form up with the '**Beaches of Normandy**' then as we fire on the targets codenamed Deltas, you'll be Beta. I want you to micro-jump and protect the two original alien vessels. '**Beaches of Normandy**' will be codenamed Omicron. Confirm?"_

From all of the Queens (CCS-Battlecruisers) and Shipmasters/mistresses (CRS-Light Cruisers) come '_Confirmed, Executing orders_'

**X-C:ME**

The three first named CCS-Battlecruisers execute a micro-jump to provide protection for the Research Ships. Six of the CRS-Light Cruisers and the other CCS-Battlecruiser execute their own micro-jumps to get into position for their disabling strike. The CCSV _Tokyo_ jumps between the Turian and Asari ships to protect them from the Batarians.

The CSSV 'Beaches of Normandy' opens fire with a withering salvo of two plasma bolts for each Batarian frigate, the frigate's kinetic barriers flare with the first shot and then the second shot slams into the weakened barriers, beneath the barriers the outer edges of the Batarian ships start to glow as the extreme heat from the deflected shots is channeled into the ships hulls by their own kinetic barriers.

The Normandy fires one of its Plasma Beams at the leading frigate, the beam is easily deflected by the barriers due to its lack of kinetic energy, but the extreme heat of the deflected plasma slams into the unprotected ship and roasts the ship's crew alive. After ten seconds of bombardment the Plasma Beam cuts out, mere moments later the barriers of the frigate collapse as the Mass Effect core goes supercritical. The frigate then explodes in a wave of blue fire as its core breaks through containment, a wave of volatile Element Zero slams into the barriers of the closest frigates weakening them somewhat.

The eight sniper ships then simultaneously lance the barriers above the Element Zero cores of the Batarian cruisers with their plasma beams. Within mere seconds the Batarian cruisers are disabled as the extreme heat causes the core connections to melt to slag and render the ships useless

In response to the destruction of the frigate, the remaining frigates open up in a salvo of mass accelerator rounds that slam into the Normandy's shields.

Shepard is thrown forwards as the inertial dampener stutters under the weight of the ordinance slamming into the shields. Shepard shouts in anger "Fire the Plasma Beams"

Artemis appears in a holographic haze and replies "We cannot, our weapons are overheated, we never thought that we would come up against shielding of this type, they were never built to sustain fire for that long, because they are all so close together one going out of commission took the rest out as well"

Shepard growls in anger "Then what about the Plasma Bolts?"

Artemis nods "They are still able to fire but they won't be able to sustain the rate of fire for long. Maybe a dozen or so shots each time before they overheat, then a ten second cool-down"

Shepard turns to the Ordinance Officer Kristen Shepard "Ordinance, open fire. If the engagement threatens to go on for too long or they threaten the civilians or the first group then prepare the Mark IV Tactical Nukes and launch them" Kristen pales, the Mark IV is a fifty megaton super-weapon, worse however is the fact that it is actually fifty, one megaton miniature missiles arranged inside a HYDRA launching missile. The enemy would be swarmed by fifty nukes and their CIWS systems wouldn't be able to compensate for the amount of missiles launched at them.

The 'Normandy' opens up with another salvo of Plasma Bolts that slam once more into the kinetic barriers of the Batarians, the two frigate whose barriers were weakened from the destruction of their comrade only take a single bolt before their barriers fail and the follow up bolt guts their ship causing massive plumes of fire and atmosphere to shoot out from the doomed vessels carrying unfortunate crewmembers into the harsh vacuum of space. Then their Mass Effect cores go supercritical and the wave of supercritical Element Zero effectively disintegrate the spaced crewmembers.

The remaining nine Batarian frigates launch another salvo and the 'Normandy's shields begin to glow red as they are overloaded by the sheer kinetic energy of the shots. Two of the shots were actually aimed for the Turian and Asari ship, but were caught by the Normandy's shields.

Shepard immediately notices this "Ordinance, lock on and launch the Mark IV's at the remaining Deltas"

Kristen nods and quickly types in the command that would launch four hundred and fifty megatons of nuclear fire at the frigates.

**X-C:ME**

Aboard the Batarian frigate 'Might of Harak' the captain of the vessel one Volkor Dr'kas smiles as he watches the alien Dreadnought scramble, their weapons are powerful but he can clearly see that they are overheating rapidly. Just as he is about to order another salvo of mass accelerator rounds his sensor officer shouts out "Captain, the alien Dreadnought has launched nine missiles, they are on a intercept course for us and the other frigates"

Volkor laughs in amusement "These primitives think that one missile can get through our GARDIAN lasers? Show them how wrong they are-"

The Sensor officer shouts over his captain "Sir each missile has split into fifty smaller missiles, I am getting a reading on them. SIR they have launched powerful fission missiles at us"

The Weapons officer shouts out "Sir the GARDIAN lasers cannot get a lock on the alien missiles, they are moving too erratically for our lasers to get a lock on them"

Volkor growls in rage "Open fire, try to blow those missiles out of the void"

**X-C:ME**

The 'Might of Harak' and its sister frigates open fire on the four hundred and fifty missiles screaming down on them at nearly a tenth of the speed of light, their GARDIAN laser arrays open fire… only for the massive wave of nuclear missiles to easily avoid getting locked on and over thirty missiles impact each ship.

The void of space is filled with nine nuclear pyres burning the remains of the Batarian frigates to cosmic dust.

A dozen or so fighters manage to launch from the disabled cruisers and fly towards the Tokyo, perhaps hoping to get a least a single kill. At least three pilots die from the radiation left over from the nuclear strike.

Shepard sends out the next order '_Alpha, launch boarding parties towards the target you disabled, do not let them execute the slaves, they are probably preparing to do so_' mere seconds after the order is sent each ship in Alpha sends out two Skyrangers that go screaming towards the disabled Batarian cruisers at high speeds.

The Tokyo shifts away from the cruisers and joins the Normandy in picking off the fighters.

Within seconds of the commando Skyrangers have clamped onto the hull and created an airtight seal (A/N: If anyone is interested this is actually a maneuver from Halo Canon, the only difference is that Pelicans are used instead) The highly trained Commandos and Sangheili burst forth onto the Batarian cruisers, taking captives or killing Batarians with quick ruthless efficiency. Less than ten minutes later they have reached the Cargo Bays and secured the slaves.

Twenty minutes from the start of the boarding every Batarian onboard the cruisers is dead or captive.

The last fighter explodes in a hail of shrapnel as it attempts to ram the Tokyo and is torn to shreds by the Tokyo's CIWS Plasma array.

**X-C:ME**

Adrien Victus watches with a gaping mouth and flared mandibles at the incredible battle that the sensors reported. He shakes his head in disbelief at the speed with which the aliens attacked and completely overwhelmed the Batarians. He prayed extra hard along with every member of his bridge crew that the aliens are friendly for what felt like the thousandth time in the last ten minutes.

He could say without any doubt in his mind that the wave of fission weapons the unknowns had launched had terrified him beyond anything else, if they had missiles like that for ships, what in the spirits name could was power their anti-planetary weapons could bring to bear?"

**X-C:ME**

"By the Goddess" Liara mutters as she watches the powerful weapons of the alien ships fly by. Liara shakes her head slightly "What manner of technology do these being have, to launch something so… so powerful?" Liara asks unaware she is still open comm with the 'Light of Menae', although there is slight static from the radiation of the fission bomb detonations.

She jumps in shock when the Turian Comm officer mutters "Whatever technology they have, I hope by the spirits they are friendly"

Liara just nods "You and me both"

**X-C:ME**

Shepard sighs in relief as the reports of the prisoners of all eight ships are reported safe and sound if a little cramped. The entire bridge crew of the 'Beaches of Normandy' sigh with her, Shepard then shakes her head while she thinks of what to do. Then she has a bright idea "Shepard to Boarding crews, prepare the ship for being towed. Group Alpha latch onto your target vessels and transport them to Shanxi, no FTL. Artemis send a simple video to the two originals indicating we'd like to meet on Shanxi" Shepard then shifts to Psionic '**_Las Vegas_**_, return to Shanxi and locate a flat plain, we need a large amount of free space. Group Lambda, remain on alert. If anymore ships appear please inform me. **Tokyo** please destroy the Delta's debris. Confirm?'_

The response is immediate '_Confirm_' The Tokyo's port plasma beam vaporizes a Batarian frigate remnant with a three second burst of sustained fire.

**X-C:ME**

"Lieutenant Victus, we have received a video message showing a image of us travelling to the Second Planet of this System" The Comm officer reports to Victus.

Victus nods his understanding "Helm, set course for the second planet, full sublight speed. Comm inform Mrs. T'Kani to follow us. Sergeant Kryik please inform the crew of what is happening"

Sergeant Nihlus Kryik salutes Victus and exits the bridge

**X-C:ME**

It takes several hours for all the ships to arrive in orbit over Shanxi, most disconcerting to the Asari and Turians is the giant ring of metal on the northern continent. However Shepard just snaps her fingers and shouts "That's where it went" to the laugher of her bridge crew and consort.

Shepard wearing her Royal armor departs on a Skyranger for a large grassy plain on the southern continent of Shanxi, a shuttle from the Turian ship and Liara's whole ship descend down following the Skyranger. As all three land on the plain, the 'Beaches of Normandy' takes up a hovering position twenty kilometers straight above the landing site, a hundred meters from the landing site the eight disable Batarian cruisers are lowered to the ground.

As Liara disembarks from her ship she stops dead with awestruck wonder and her mouth hanging open at the sight of the massive ship hovering in the air above her without any sight of the customary blue glow of a Mass Effect field negating it's mass.

Victus and his men are similarly awed, but their Turian discipline prevents them from following Liara's example.

Shepard walks out into the empty space between the Skyranger with Mikhail on her right and Thel on her left, Turian shuttle and Liara's Ship. Immediately all the Turians and Liara focus on her, Liara gasps '_She looks like a Nephilim, but… more, she has something, something more than the visual differences, that the Nephilim do not possess, could she be a different form of Nephilim? Or perhaps she is something different yet similar'_ and the obviously different alien standing next to her.

Victus' mandibles flare is slight shock '_Two Alien races, working together! Perhaps I was a little to paranoid_' Victus frowns '_But why does she look so similar to the Nephilim, are their species related in some manner?_'

Liara just gasps at the beautiful decorations present on Shepard's armor, she wonders what Shepard's culture is like to have produced such a ornate and elegant but practical armor.

Taking the initiative Shepard strides over to Liara and before anyone can reach taps a finger to her forehead.

Shepard grins at the mind she discovers and the little deception Liara has perpetrated Shepard then says in perfect Thessian "You know, your mother is probably panicking right now young maiden. You should be ashamed of yourself, you let your own desires for adventure override your intellect. I hope you will apologize to your mother for the scare you have most likely put her through, Liara T'Soni"

Victus' mouth drops open in shock while Liara just nods numbly to what Shepard said. Shepard turns to Victus and taps his head as well and then is perfect Palavien says "Worry not Adrien Victus, I cannot read your races secrets from your mind. Only that which you are currently thinking of. I hope your people are alright, those _Sons of Bitches_ must have done a real number on them"

Victus gets over his shock when midway through her sentence Shepard quickly swaps from Palavien to another language and back. The language she spoke was somewhat musical, if rough, it was obvious she was cursing and most likely referring to the Batarians so he says "I don't quite know what you said, but I am assuming you are referring to the Batarians that were chasing my ship and Mrs. T'Kani's"

Shepard frowns and then revelation hits her "Oh you mean Liara, the name she gave you was just an alias she used to run away from her mother. So those four-eyed monsters are called Batarians" Her eyes harden and her honor guard stiffen with anger and righteous fury "They are slavers and I must punish them, the vow demands it"

Victus frowns in thought "The vow?"

Shepard nods absently "Yes, my people made a vow to prevent monsters like the Batarians from landing on our homeworld long ago, in order to fulfill this vow we must slay all monsters to prevent them from breeding and becoming numerous enough to attack us"

Victus is taken back by the matter of fact way Shepard states coldly murdering the Batarians, Shepard notices and sighs "You must think my race is very brutal, but we do have laws to protect those who fight against us in the name of others and we do not kill all prisoners, simply those which cannot be redeemed"

Thel having walked up when Shepard 'read' Victus after receiving Thessian from Mikhail states "My people find great honor in the Humans, they are kind and honest, if secretive. They are slow to trust, but a greater ally you couldn't have, they are quick to defend and prefer peace over war from what I have seen in my twenty-seven years I have spent with them"

Victus looks at them both and asks "Who are you?"

Shepard shakes her head in exasperation "I apologize Lieutenant Victus, I am used to everyone knowing my name as a Clan Queen. I am Suzanne Shepard, a Queen of Clan Shepard. My race is known as the Novus, but we are also called Humans, The Benevolent Ones and the Star Walkers by the other two races we are allied with" Shepard not quite trusting the Citadel races keeps her true rank hidden.

Thel quickly picks up on the deception and plays along "I am Thel' Vadam, a Kaidon or Clan Lord of the Sangheili. I am one of the original Sangheili ambassadors to the Novus"

Victus nods in acknowledgement of what he has been told "I am Adrien Victus, a Lieutenant of the Turians. But you appear to know that already"

Shepard shakes her head "I knew your name and the name of your race, I knew nothing of your culture or rank. You have told me of your rank, But I would like to learn more about your culture. As would Thel, he was quite interested when your ship design showed that your people must rarely retreat"

Victus nods in shock, they had discovered something fundamental to his race just from their ship design! "I am not the best to speak of such things"

Thel shakes his head "Nonsense, you are a soldier, in my experience the soldier above all knows the true nature of a culture as he is one who protects it"

Victus slowly nods in agreement with a slight smile "I think that I like the way you think"

Thel laughs loudly "I am a soldier who must play a being a politician, it is no surprise that you are familiar with the way I think. Shepard is another, older and wiser then I though"

Liara interjects "What do you mean, I am no expert but she doesn't appear to be that old"

Shepard laughs at Liara's response "How old are you Liara?"

Liara blushes in embarrassment "I am only eighty years old"

Shepard shakes her head "I am one hundred and sixty-six years of age. Over double your age, I think Thel has the right to say I am older and wiser than him"

Liara steps back in shock "Goddess, I had no idea, I'm sorry"

Shepard shakes her head in amusement "Don't be, I have long come to terms with my age, it stopped bothering me over eighty years ago. When I became a Queen, my age became useless knowledge amongst all the duties of a leader"

Liara stopped her frantic apologies and laughs slightly, Shepard cocks her head "What is so funny?"

Liara sobers up slightly "It's just that my mother once said something similar to me"

Shepard nods in agreement "Once you have people depending on you Liara age becomes meaningless whether you are eighty or eight hundred, you are still responsible and must forget such trivial matters such as age and vanity. People care little for a pompous ruler who takes hours to get ready and moans about her age, but they'll march into damnation for one who cares little for airs and vanity and age, one who will walk beside them as they walk into damnation, that is what people want"

Victus nods in agreement "Yes, I am fairly unusual in that instead of sticking to set tactics I'll go out of my way to protect my men's lives and because of that they'll follow me anywhere I lead. So I understand what you are talking about"

Shepard smiles at Victus "I would love to one day stand beside you and shed blood together in battle. You are one I would trust to watch my back in the horror that is war"

Victus straightens up at the praise "Thank you, I would like that as well. But I would like better to be telling stories together afterwards to the next generation"

Shepard laughs with Thel and Mikhail "I think I would not do well as the old veteran, I will stand and fight until the end. Even if half crippled with age I would still go out fighting, but that is who I am. Few others among my people are like that"

Victus shakes his head in bemusement "Normally the races I am used to all have a certain persona that they stick to, a cultural ideal that they stick to. But you, you move from have a Turian's honor to a Krogan's love of battle to a Asari's diplomacy it is strange, but at the same time interesting"

Shepard nods while chuckling "That is simply what my people are like, we range from great warriors to scientists and even artists and writers, we do not fit a niche, but instead occupy them all. We shift from one extreme to another, simply out of curiosity as to what it is like to be different to what we already are. Perhaps we are not dedicated to one pursuit, one ideology, but instead to all of them" Shepard stops and thinks for a second and then says in a voice that sounds like billions or even trillions are speaking in chorus "We are Eternal, yet we are ephemeral. We are individuals all, but also simultaneously a Clan, an Empire and a Race, we are separated by light-years yet never alone. We are fast in thought and motion, but slow to anger. We are the scientist, but also the dreamer. The soldier and the pacifist. We are the light and the dark. We are everything and nothing. We have embraced eternity and yet act like we know not of it. We are contradiction given form but also unity given shape. We have no purpose and every purpose"

Victus, the Turians and Liara are staring at Shepard in awe while Thel is slowly beginning to comprehend the true nature of Humanity, a task that has taken him over two decades and is still not yet complete.

Shepard smiles brightly and finishes with "We are unprecedented, thus we have taken that as our name. We are the Novus"

Liara shakes her head in bewilderment "I cannot even comprehend what you are talking about. I think I can understand it but the moment I try"

"Understanding slips away, like it wasn't even there to begin with?" Shepard asks.

Liara nods in response and Shepard laughs "Do not worry Liara, it would be impossible for you to know what I am talking about, simply because you are one person with one view. I am one person also, but I have a trillion different viewpoints with which to observe the universe. You do not have… a word encompassing enough to describe what I am saying" Shepard frowns "Speaking is so inefficient, you cannot grasp my ideas and emotions, you simply attempt to piece together the fragments that you are given, but without a picture to base them off they come out wrong"

Victus frowns in thought "What do you mean speaking is so inefficient, it is the only way to communicate face to face"

Shepard shakes her head in exasperation, the brightens as if she has had an idea. She puts her finger to Victus' head and suddenly.

Victus gasps as trillions of voices and sensations rush through him in an instant followed by a rush of pleasure and adrenaline. Shepard breaks the contact and Victus staggers back slightly. He looks at Shepard and his mind says subconsciously, but also consciously. '_Shepard, Ancient, Original, Queen, Ruler, Warrior, Soldier, Guardian, Diplomat, Mother_' Then Victus shakes his head to clear it of the strange thoughts. He looks back at Shepard and asks "What was that?"

Shepard smiles at Victus "That… is the Hive Mind, that is the force that links every Novus together"

Liara frowns in thought "A Hive Mind, like the Rachni?"

Shepard frowns at the strange word "Rachni? What are they?"

Liara's eyes widen then she stammers "S-sorry, I forgot you are not a member of the Citadel, you just seemed to integrate so well. The Rachni are an ancient race of insects that nearly wiped out the Citadel races two thousand years ago, they never communicated to us, never attempted diplomacy, so they were all killed"

Shepard shakes her head as tears of sadness for a race long dead stream down her cheeks "It is a tragedy, what must have happened. The Rachni probably couldn't understand your diplomats. They might have thought that you kind were leaderless and therefore feral, they were probably looking for a Hive Mind and couldn't find one"

Liara pales as she thinks that over, a viewpoint she had never considered before, what if the Rachni had thought them non-sentient or feral "I-I believe y-you may b-be correct, Goddess d-di my ancestors kill an i-innocent race?" Liara start to cry at the thought of her ancestors doing something so evil, of the pure ideal she had held onto for her entire life becoming stained with the nightmare of reality.

Shepard shakes her head and pulls Liara into a hug, to Victus it looks like the kind a mother would give to comfort her children "Hush little one, your ancestors fought for their lives, do not demean their sacrifices with hindsight. It is easy to look back and judge, when you know all the facts. But it is very difficult to actually learn such things when fighting. Trust me, I have fought in a war that resulted in the extinction of a race. Was what my people did right? Was what I did right? Maybe not. But, it was the only way for my kind to survive. My people have a saying 'When faced with Extinction. ANY alternative, no matter how terrible, is preferable' Would we destroy an entire race to protect innocents? Yes, even if we are feared and reviled. We would destroy them, so that the innocents are still alive to fear us and hate us. Remember this Liara T'Soni, you are not a warrior, you are a scholar. You do not understand war or the fear that comes with the knowledge your people are on the brink of death, nor do you understand the guilt that comes from knowing you destroyed an entire race. But considering the alternative? I prefer the guilt of killing an entire race, to that of leaving innocents to suffer just so I can say my hands are clean of blood"

Liara nods slowly, but exhausted from her exertions and the revelations given to her from Shepard she collapses in Shepard's arms. Shepard shakes her head "I just cannot help but find people to care for" She turns to Victus "We have been talking for quite a while, the slaves of the 'Batarians' have been loaded aboard my ship, your people are welcome to come aboard and have some relaxation from having to work a ship"

Victus smiles gratefully "Thank you, I humbly accept your offer, but I must ask that your people do not try to learn any secrets from my ship while it is vacant"

Thel walks forwards and places his right hand over his left heart "You have my word, a group of my finest and most trusted will guard your ship"

Victus nods "Thank you"

Shepard smiles at Victus "You are lucky, a Sangheili would rather die than break their word, it is everything to them. I wish I could help repair your ship, but our technology is fundamentally different so we have no idea as to how most of the systems on your ship work and it would take far too long for our scientists to learn how"

Victus nods again and then bows "If you excuse me I must return to my ship to inform the crew of our shore leave. My people have Dextro-amino acids, are you capable of supplying such foods"

Shepard shakes her head sadly "I'm afraid I've only heard the term discussed as a theory, but you will be pleased to know you've made a lot of scientists happy to know that Dextro-amino acid based life-forms exist"

Victus smiles at the comment "Well, at least someone is happy. I'll have my men bring over food supplies, but ferrying it all by shuttle will be tedious"

Shepard shakes her head "Why use a shuttle? We can easily fit your ship in the main hanger bay of the 'Beaches of Normandy'"

Victus frowns "The 'Beaches of Normandy'?"

Since Shepard's hands are full Mikhail points up. Victus follows the finger and nods while gulping at the reminder of the great ship above him "Right, I forgot that was even there"

Shepard smiles at him before nodding and walking back to the Skyranger with the sleeping Liara in her arms.

The Skyranger and Turian shuttle depart at the same time and head back to their respective ships.

**X-C:ME**

As the Skyranger lands in the main hanger bay the docking birth for the 'Light of Menae' that Shepard Psionically ordered be configured while flying back is almost finished. Above a magnetic crane has been rigged to move the former Cruiser to its temporary berth.

As Shepard gets to the bridge of the 'Beaches of Normandy', still holding the sleeping Liara. Artemis pops up "Mother, the Turian ship has hailed us"

Shepard smiles "That was fast, open a channel"

In front of Shepard a holographic screen appears with Victus' face on it "Shepard, my crew are ready, what do we need to do?"

Shepard smiles and nods to Artemis "You should be receiving a video of how to approach, when you see a glowing blue opening right in front of you just enter. The glowing blue energy is just a barrier to keep the atmosphere in. Once a third of your ship is inside, cut power to your thrusters and our docking system will do the rest. We already have reconfigured it for your ship. By the way I never asked, what is your ship's name?"

Victus smiles "My ship is called the 'Light of Menae' I've passed the instructions along and will see you on your ship"

Shepard nods and the screen disappears "Artemis lower the shields"

Artemis smirks at Shepard "Already done"

Shepard smiles at her hologram "Efficient as always Artemis, it's almost hard to believe you're my child at times"

Artemis nods in thanks "Thank you for the compliment Mother"

Shepard just grins back and then turns around to head to the Hanger Bay she'd just come from, still carrying the sleeping Asari.

**X-C:ME**

On her way back to the hanger Shepard passes through the recreation park that is present onboard the 'Beaches of Normandy', as soon as she steps into the park dozens of drones without anything to do flock to her. Shepard smiles at the drones who are all eager to work, she sighs as she feels the displeasure from them that they aren't allowed to work. But they are still human and must be given all the rights as a human being, though she is considering allowing drones to sacrifice their free time if they wish and continue working.

**X-C:ME**

**_Council Codex Entry_**

**_Humans – Drones_**

**_Data collected between 2157 and 2160_**

_The Drone is an interesting position in the human culture, not much is actually known about these mysterious beings as they have never left a human world or ship without a non-drone human present. The human embassy present on the citadel does not have any drones present and neither do any human ships beneath seven hundred (700) meters in size. They appear to do make work and will cluster around the human leaders or Queens as they are called when otherwise not engaged in tasks, this information was reported by several citizens rescued during the infamous First Contact event with the Humans._

_Speculation as to the purpose of the drones is varied, some say that they are specialists that are only required on the largest of human vessels, others have suggested that they are some form of nobility that isn't allowed to interact with non-humans (Although the fact that drones have been seen in the presence of the human non-citadel race allies makes this idea suspect) A Batarian has even commented that the drones might be humanity's version of slaves. Unfortunately he did not survive the fall of Khar'shan and other Batarians are too terrified of humanity to comment on the issue._

_When asked the humans remain silent on the issue, they mention that it is a cultural issue that we are not yer trusted to know about._

_In the meantime the full purpose and method of creation of the drones remains yet another mystery in the ever-growing riddle that is humanity._

_Council Codex End_

**X-C:ME**

Shepard walks into the hanger with the unconscious Liara in her arms as a small army of drones follows her. In the distance she can see the slaves rescued from the 'Batarian' ships being unloaded. A pulsating purple light comes on warning crew members that the Turian ship is on final approach, over head a vast crane like apparatus moves into position ready to shift the Turian Cruiser to its berth.

Suddenly a low hum fills the hanger, waking the sleeping Liara, as the Turian Cruiser 'Light of Menae' enters the hanger.

Liara quickly awakes as the hum starts but before she can say anything she is distracted by the Turian ship appearing through a blue barrier on the port side of the ship.

The Turian ship slows to a halt.

KER-CLUNK! KER-CLUNK!

The sound of two powerful electromagnets connecting to the hull of the 'Light of Menae' fills the hanger. The Crane starts to move pulling the ship inside, once the ship is a little over halfway as second pair of connectors drop from the roof.

KER-CLUNK! KER-CLUNK!

The next pair lock on without a problem just under halfway from the bow of the ship to the stern and the crane starts moving again, the ship floats in the hanger without any problems and within seconds the whole ship is inside. A final pair of connectors drop down.

KER-CLUNK! KER-CLUNK!

The last two connectors lock into place less than a meter from the stern of the ship, the ship is pulled to the centre of the hanger. Right in front of Shepard and then it turns ninety degrees so that it's bow is facing towards the bow of the 'Beaches of Normandy' the 'Light of Menae' move back and begins to lower slightly as several airlock connectors shift to get into position.

The 'Light of Menae' is stopped by the hanger crane and six airlock connectors and a cargo bay door connector lock into place. The port bow airlock opens and Adrien Victus strides out.

**X-C:ME**

Adrien Victus is not a Turian who is surprised easily, but since coming to this system he have received shock after shock. But none of those shocks compare to what he sees when he walks out of the port bow airlock into the hanger of the human super-Dreadnought. He barely resists gaping at the massive domed room that appears to run the length of the under belly of the ship, right in the middle of the space is a large pillar that has an area of glass panels a few meters from the top that appears to be a room with a unobstructed view of the hanger, in the far distance he can see more blue portals that must be other entrances and exits to this massive hanger bay. He notices as he glances up that not only are there dozens of cranes like the ones that move his ship, but there are also defensive turrets and what look like over-sized insects floating around either maintaining the equipment… or getting into position with sniper rifles.

Victus turns as he notices a commotion and is shocked to see a large gathering of Citadel Races, he can see dozens of Turians and Asari, some Volus, a dozen or so of Elcor and two Quarians. He remembers Shepard mentioning the Batarians being slavers and guesses that these must be the slaves rescued from the Batarian ships that Shepard spoke of. He watches as lithe and graceful humans walk through the crowd, seemingly at random, before they would grab a random being and scan them. Some with obvious and not so obvious injuries are taking over to what looks like a mobile hospital that has been set up, by another set of humans that don't appear to receive any instruction from the ones scanning.

Victus hears a chuckle and turns to see the Sangheili Thel standing on the other end of the airlock gangway "You must be surprised at how fast the Humans can learn and get organized aren't you? I was as well, they have a way of everyone doing a thousand different things and yet they all match up perfectly, this method is what makes them so powerful. They work as one with one purpose. However that is not important right now come there are some of your people amongst those who were rescued, they are asking for the captain of your ship"

Victus nods as his Turian discipline kicks in "Kryik, go get the doctor to check over the rescued Turians, good as they humans may be they might miss something thinking it isn't dangerous to our kind. The rest of you, form up on me, these men and women are most likely shocked, disorientated and could use the sight of a disciplined squad"

"Aye Sir" The Turian crew members shout in affirmative as Sergeant Kryik goes to get the 'Light of Menae's doctor.

Thel nods to Victus as they start walking towards the rescued slaves "You are a wise man, people like to see something they are used to in times of change, I would imagine that the discipline of your race is well known across all your allies so it will help rally them as well and give them something to anchor themselves with"

Victus nods in agreement with Thel's assessment then he asks "If you don't mind me asking, what did your people cling to when the Humans made contact?"

Thel laughs at the memory "Believe it or not, we used the ritual of a Kaidon being challenged to hold to. A foolish Kaidon by the name of Jul' Mdama challenged Shepard to a duel of swords and lost, as the winner Shepard took his lands and people as dictated by our customs, we then treated Shepard like any other Kaidon. To us she is a leader of our people, one that is so well liked that even though she offered, the former subjects of Jul' Mdama refused to change their leadership and asked her to remain as their leader"

Victus laughs at the story "I must say that is probably the best diplomacy I've ever heard of. So it seems that Shepard is able to speak as a soldier and politician"

Thel snickers in amusement "Probably because among the humans everyone is a soldier, at the age of twenty every human undergoes military training and spends a decade in their service. Out of boredom I once shouted admiral on deck in a ship full of civilians and they all snapped to attention. I wondered if I was going to get in trouble when Shepard walled up beside me and said-"

"Thank you for the introduction Thel" Shepard's amused voice cuts in.

Victus and Thel turn to see Shepard with a awake and blushing Liara still being held in her arms standing there without a care in the universe.

Shepard nods to Victus "Come, let us reassure your people and allies that they are safe"

**X-C:ME**

* * *

_Phew, that's over. Ten thousand words, one of my rare 10K plus Chapters. Plus around or over a thousand words of Author Notes._

_I'm exhausted, but other than that I'm quite fine. Now I'm sad to say that it's going to be another month long gap between Chapters. You'll see the next one somewhere from August Thirty (30__th__) to September First (1__st__)_

_dragonsong2795 Out_


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